The Wounded Hart
by AvalonBay
Summary: [Third in Powerless Series]. Kimberly's goal was to get to the Olympics and she would do anything to get there; even if it meant jeopardizing her life.
1. Prologue

**The Wounded Hart**

 **Summary – Kimberly's goal was to get to the Olympics and she would do anything to get there; even if it meant jeopardizing her life.**

* * *

Kimberly Hart smiled a flashes of photography went off in her face.

She's won another gymnastics competition. One of the hardest yet. All of the other girls were so good. And while Kimberly didn't really get nervous, she felt the butterflies moving through her stomach as she waited for her events to start. An all-day gymnastics competition and she only participated in three events; floor, balance beam, and the parallel bars. The ones that tore up her hands, injured her ankles, and worked her body in ways no one could understand was difficult.

Even more so than monster fights. But when she was practicing her gymnastics she felt like she was flying, like nothing could touch her. She was strong and nothing was going to keep her from going as far as she could go. With another win under her belt, she was one step closer to her goal of making it to the Olympics. In the back of her mind, she wondered if she could even get so far, when there were so many other things to worry about.

She was getting up there in age, already a little older than those that were getting their start in the highest tier of gymnastics. Then there was school and the rest of her life. With the hours she put into gymnastics before becoming a ranger, how would she keep it all together? Classes, homework, ranger duties, the long _long_ hours of practice, being a friend, being a daughter, being a part of the Angel Grove community…?

She couldn't keep up.

So something had to do.

She dropped all of her extracurriculars, went to ranger battle as often as she could though the others worked to pick up her slack, did her homework whenever she could, caught up on sleep in study hall and other classes and…stopped eating.

She needed to be lean, lighter, able to fly higher and eating was just slowing her down. The sooner she made it, the sooner she could start up again. And it wasn't like she _completely_ gave it up, she had a protein bar every morning and every night. And a few snacks here and there. But it was working. She was making her way…

Kimberly shifted the flowers that rested in her arm then frowned. They felt like they weighed a million pounds in her arms, slowly dragging her down. She felt her legs start to give out beneath her, her knees wobbling and quaking more than it had the day Zordon and Alpha took her and her friends out to the Command Center for the first time.

A low sound slipped from Kimberly's lips as she brought a hand up to her forehead. Seconds before she moved it to catch herself as she slowly, very slowly, sank to the floor. She blacked out before hitting the ground.

* * *

 **A/N:** I've done this plot, Kim having an eating disorder, in my Avalon series but it comes more in depth here. This story, like _I'm Home,_ focuses more on Kim and Tommy, but there will also be a good balance of showing Kim's relationships with all of her friends, too. I hope you guys like it.

 **~Av**


	2. Four Months Ago

**Four Months Ago**

* * *

Kimberly gave a sheepish smile as the doors to the gym closed behind her with a loud clang. She brought her hand up to brush back her bangs as Coach Jenson looked over at her. Coach Jenson never missed when one of her girls were late. Kimberly should've known she was going to get caught. But she couldn't ignore the putties that were attacking at the fundraising event at the mall.

The _mall_. Her home away from home.

"Sorry," Kimberly said quietly, scurrying across the gym to reach the rest of her team. "I had something I needed to take care of."

"I hope it was important," Coach Jenson said.

"It was," Kimberly said earnestly. She nodded, widened her eyes as innocently as she could and clasped her hands in her lap. "It was…a bit of an emergency." She held up her hands. "But everything's okay, now. I promise. I'm sorry."

Coach Jenson pursed her lips. "You don't need to apologize to me, you need to apologize to the girls."

Kimberly looked to the side and caught Angela Mumsford's eye. They weren't close by any means, Zack had been chasing her for as long as she could remember, but being on the cheerleading squad, you were considered a family. And in this family, they all knew Coach Jenson had a habit of taking cheerleading a little _too_ seriously. It was just a high school team that wasn't going to get any bigger than that. Sure, they managed to win every competition they went to for the last three years but it wasn't as important.

Not as important as her responsibility to keep Angel Grove as safe as possible. But Kimberly knew the game that had to be played and pressed her palms together saying, "I'm sorry, guys. I really hope you don't hate me for the rest of my life, or put me at the bottom of the pyramid." She grinned at the sound of the giggles the girls gave her. Even Coach Jenson did her best not to let her smile show. "Really guys, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Kim."

"No problem."

"I hope everything's okay."

Coach Jenson waited for the noise to die down before clapping her hands together. "Now that we have that out of the way, I can get to what's important. The football team's big game is on Friday and we need to be ready. We're going to work on some of our more popular cheers and on some new ones that I hope to premiere at the game, okay?"

Kimberly whooped and hollered along with the rest of her team. She listened as Coach Jenson continued to stress the importance of the game. But Kimberly already knew. Not only were her best guy friends all on the team, but her boyfriend was the starting quarterback. He was shy about the attention it brought him but she knew he was as excited about being able to start the games and to lead the plays. His leadership role certainly translated over from being the leader of the rangers.

 _Now, if only he could take that confidence with him, too,_ Kimberly thought, bringing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them. It was strange to see him become two different people—Tommy Oliver the regular teen and Tommy Oliver the ranger. Those people were like night and day. A good secret identity to have, really. And, maybe, it was her problem, too. She got nervous butterflies before every cheerleading event and gymnastics competition but felt nothing but pure adrenaline when running off to face putties and other monsters with her team.

 _Maybe, I'm the one who needs her head examined._

Kimberly smiled at her little joke before getting up to stretch with the rest of the cheerleading team. Then for the next two hours they went over their old routines before starting the new ones. They were a lot more challenging than she expected, feeling muscles she hadn't thought existed get pulled repeatedly as they did their flips, twists, and bends to the rhyming cheers. They went over them for the entirety of the practice and when it ended, Kimberly was as tired as she'd ever been. That extra putty fight certainly didn't help things much.

When it ended, she grabbed her pink sports bag and hurried from the gym, back into the school. She ran as fast as her arms and legs would pump, slowing to a speed walk when she saw Mr. Kaplan coming down the hallway towards her. She smiled and nodded as she powerwalked by him—trying her best _not_ to stare at the rug that adorned the top of his head—until he was out of sight and stated to run again.

Kimberly rounded the corner and nearly collided with Tommy at his locker. Even a little flushed and sweaty, she couldn't keep the smile from her face when she smiled up at her boyfriend. He blinked down at her, surprised by her sudden appearance, and smiled that warm, loving smile she always loved to get from him.

"Hey," he greeted her and gave her a kiss. Before leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek, too, before wrapping his arms around her.

"Hey," Kimberly replied warmly, resting her chin on his chest. She bit her lower lip as she smiled up at him. She couldn't help it. How could she have gotten so lucky to have won over the sweetest, most handsome guy in school?"

"Please," Trini said teasingly from Tommy's other side. "You guys _just_ saw each other." She stepped back out of the way of a large crowd of students started to fill the hallways. There wasn't much time before they had to go to their next class.

"Yeah, but we suffer withdrawal after two minutes," Kimberly defended herself, sharing a secret smile with Tommy.

"Oh, is _that_ what you call it?" Zack asked as he, Jason, Billy, and Avalon arrived at their lockers as well. "Us normal folks like to call it 'sad'." He pretended to think about it. "Pathetic works, too, but that might be a little harsh." He smiled as Tommy shoved him on the shoulder.

"Or as other people call it, being jealous," Jason said.

He moved to Trini's side and looped his arm around her shoulders, making her blush and duck her head. Kimberly caught her eye and Trini's face reddened even further despite the happiness she saw radiating in her friend's eyes. Jason's and Trini's relationship was fairly new, nevertheless, Kimberly was very happy for the two of them. Now she and Tommy finally had someone to double date with.

Not that that was the only reason she was glad they were going out. That'd be selfish. But it was a plus.

"Jealous? Me?" Zack's eyebrows rose in mock offense.

"Well, it is known that those who have something other people want tend to let it affect them more than they'd like," Billy pointed out with a shrug and a smug smile. "And the fact that you haven't made any progress with Angela…"

"That's a work in progress," Zack defended himself.

"Mate, you've been saying that for weeks now," Avalon pointed out. She folded her arms, jutting her hip out to the side. "How much longer do you think it'll be before you manage to turn her around?"

"Forever," Jason supplied.

"The next of never," Tommy added.

"Statistically speaking? Eternity," Zack agreed before the group started to laugh again. Even Zack could laugh along with them. He was as unflappable as ever, able to see the bright side of nearly every situation he came across. Even if that meant getting the attention of the most unattainable girl in school.

"Oh don't tease him like that," Kimberly said, quickly coming to his defense. "He doesn't need any bad mojo before the big game on Friday." She removed her arms from around Tommy's waist and clasped her hands together and bounced on her toes. "This is so rad, you guys are going to play great. _And_ the cheerleading team is working on some new cheers."

"God, now I have to try and focus on the game when I can watch Angela doing some new moves?" Zack glanced at the ceiling and spread his arms wide. "Why do you hate me so much?"

"It's not life that hates you, Twinkle-Toes, it's Angela." Avalon patted him on the back. "But that's okay, one day soon you're going to see it, too." She smirked and looked at her friends. "I know this football game is a big thing, but don't forget I have a volleyball game today, too."

"Oh, and field hockey for me tomorrow," Trini agreed, lifting a finger. "We're going against Stone Canyon. It's supposed to be big."

Kimberly nodded. That's who the football game was against, too. Stone Canyon was one of their biggest rivals in all of their sports teams. The match-up always brought in some of the biggest turnouts in the crowd. One of her biggest competitors in gymnastics was from Stone Canyon, too. They were all so good. But that didn't mean they weren't going to win. Angel Grove was one of the best schools in academics and athletics, they'd continue to do her proud.

"I may be a little late to the game," Kimberly said. She grasped Trini's wrist. "I have a really important gymnastics practice tomorrow."

"How'd you even convince Mr. Kaplan to let you be a cheerleader _and_ be on the city's gymnastics team?" Avalon asked. "He said my parkour practices didn't count."

"Well, you're the new kid here," Billy reminded her. "He probably wanted to make sure you were making friends and felt a part of Angel Grove."

Avalon frowned to him. "I was asking a question, Smurf. I didn't ask for you to make sense." She jostled him on the arm, making him laugh then addressed Kimberly. "Can't you skip one practice? I don't think it's that big a deal." Then she noticed the looks on everyone else's faces. "I stand corrected."

"Getting between Kim and gymnastics is like wanting to get between…Bulk and food," Jason pointed out. "It just doesn't happen."

Kimberly laughed pleasantly and looped her arm through Tommy's. "It's not _that_ important she said slowly. But then she couldn't keep the excited smile from coming to her face. It was big news to share. Too big to keep to herself. "Okay, okay, I didn't want to jinx anything but I have to tell someone. There's rumors going around the Gunthar Schmidt is going to be there to scout girls to train for the Olympic team." She got nothing but blank looks in reply. "Guys! Come on! Gunthar Schmidt, world renowned gymnastics coach who has sent six girls to the Olympics within the last eight years. And he's coming to watch _my_ practice." She waved a hand. "Okay, not just _my_ practice, the rest of the team is going to be there, but I'm going to be there too, and…" she trailed off, suddenly nervous. "Oh, I don't know. I hope he likes me but, maybe he'll think I'm not good."

"Kim, you're already freaking yourself out and you haven't even gotten there yet," Tommy reminded her. He put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. "You just need to relax and believe in yourself. You can do this."

"Yeah, that Coach Schmidt guy has to be a drongo if you thinks you're not good enough to make it his team." Avalon paused. "Or whatever it is that he's recruiting for."

"Yeah, Kim, we heard he was coming but didn't say anything because we didn't want to make you nervous," Trini said. She grasped Kimberly's hands in her own. "There's nothing to be afraid of. You're the best gymnast that Angel Grove has ever seen."

"Yeah, and if he doesn't take you, _he's_ the loser," Zack agreed. His eyes widened when his friends glared at him. "What? It's true."

"Your vernacular didn't make it sound so positive," Billy pointed out.

"Okay, whenever Smurf starts to use big words like that is when it's my cue to leave." She pointed at her friends. "You're all coming to my game, right?" They nodded in response then she pointed directly at Billy. "What about you?"

"I've got a meeting after school with the science club but I'll be there," Billy replied.

"Good." Avalon gently poked him in the chest and gave him a teasing smile. "I know where you live."

"I'll see you in art class," Kimberly called after her. She blew her friend a kiss then looked at her expectantly. "Av!"

The orange ranger lifted her hands as she continued to back away from her friends. "I'm not blowing you a kiss, Pinkerbell," she said.

Kimberly pouted.

"Not going to happen!" Avalon insisted. She looked at her watch and took larger steps to make her way down the hall. "I'll catch you guys later!" She waved before hurrying around the corner.

"I think she's started trying to get away from you faster than usual, Kim," Billy said as he watched her leave. "I haven't seen her actually _want_ to go to class before." He turned back to his friends and made a face when he noticed his friends all giving him knowing smiles. "What?"

"Nothing," they said in unison.

Billy frowned. "I hate it when you do that."

"It's nothing, Billy, I promise," Kimberly lied. She looked at her watch. "Yikes, I've got to get to my next class, too. I can't be late again. Miss. Chapman wasn't so happy with me last time."

"That's because you walked in, in the middle of a test and made the most noise I'd ever heard," Zack reminded her. Kimberly glared and he held his hands up defensively. "I can see my commentary isn't wanted today. I'll keep my comments to myself from now on." He dragged his fingers across his lips, miming zipping it shut.

"That's not going to last too long," Jason dead-panned. "Better get to class before it all goes downhill. I'll see you guys later." He gave Tommy, Zack, and Billy high-fives while Kimberly and Trini gave each other quick pecks on the cheek before they left to go their class.

"Yeah, we'll catch you later. Let's go, man." Zack and Billy went off in the opposite direction.

Kimberly hurriedly opened her locker to put her sports bag inside before getting her books. Tommy waited dutifully by her side, holding onto her backpack as she hurried to get her things before being late. Finally, she closed the door and took her backpack from Tommy's hand, giving him a grateful kiss before taking his hand as they walked to class.

"Is everything okay, Kim?" Tommy asked as they went along.

"Of course." She looked up at him. "Why?"

"Well, you just seem a little out of it," Tommy said. "Kind of quiet. Did you get hurt when we were fighting those putties?"

Kimberly shook her head. Who would've thought Rita and Zedd would've been smart enough to send out some putties when they in school? Thankfully, it was during one of their free periods so they didn't miss any class or cause any disturbances in their classes. Still, it was weird. They hadn't been too difficult either, but they did pack a bit of a wallop. Zedd's new putties seemed to come with new weapons as well. Even with their advanced physiologies due to their powers, there was only so many times they could be punched before it started to hurt.

"No, it's this whole Coach Schmidt thing," Kimberly said. She swung their hands between them. "I'm just so nervous."

"You're going to make the team, Kim."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do." Tommy pulled on her hand, making her come to a stop.

The others students left the hallway, leaving the only two there. He lowered his voice, not wanting it to carry. They'd already gotten in enough trouble for not having any hall passes on them while trying to sneak back into the school after a make-out session during lunch the week before. It'd totally been worth it, but she didn't need to have the school call her mother the next time she got in trouble, especially when Tommy was involved. Her mom already thought she spent too much time with him, she didn't need to give her a reason to be right.

"You're an amazing gymnast, Beautiful," Tommy said to her. "You work hard, you get there early and always stay late. It's a dream you've had as long as you could remember and I know you'd never give that up just because you're nervous."

"It's not nerves, Tommy, it's…" Kimberly sucked in a deep breath and used her free hand to run down the side of her face. "It's everything. If I can get this there's scholarships and money and…and a new life for me and mom. We're living well now but…I just…I want to pay my mom back, you know? My dad's barely paid child support over the years and I just want to let her know how much I appreciate everything she's done for me over the years. And being a ranger doesn't cut it."

"I get it, Kim, I do." Tommy cupped her face in his hands. "But it's not anything you should talk yourself out of just because you're scared. If anything, you should do it _because_ you're scared. It's better to try because no matter what happens, you'll know. It's better than not knowing."

Kimberly nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Thank you, Handsome." She stood on her tip and gave him a kiss on the cheek, making him blush. "You really know what to say to make me feel better."

Tommy smiled modestly.

Kimberly nodded with renewed vigor, amping herself up. It was still a day away and she still had time to practice. She was going to impress Coach Schmidt. Juggling the gymnastics team, being a ranger, and gymnastics would be hard but she'd done it before. She could do it again. "I'll do anything to get this, Tommy. Anything."

* * *

 **A/N:** Wow, thank you for all of the positive response with the first chapter. I hope this one is just as enjoyable.

 **~Av**


	3. She Did It

**A/N:** Hey guys, just to avoid any confusion chapters or scenes that happen during the time of the prologue won't have a time stamp, but those that happen before then will. For example, the first chapter is a prologue set in the 'present' so it didn't have a time stamp, but the chapter afterwards happened in the past so it had one. Let me know if this causes any confusion.

* * *

Kimberly scratched at her forehead. Nervously, she brushed her bangs back and forth as she watched the medical person walk back and forth around her. Doctor? Nurse? She didn't remember how he had introduced himself. Everything was so fuzzy. One moment she had just finished a dismount off a balance beam and had numerous photographers sticking their cameras in their faces as she stood on the third place podium. The next thing she knew, things slanted sideways and swirled around like a kaleidoscope before she fell to the ground.

 _Then_ she rudely had a flashlight shone in her face by the doctor—nurse?—to wake her up. He'd explained to her that she'd passed out, but that everything was going to be okay. Just her like that as soon as the words 'passed out' escaped his lips, her mother came barreling through the door with so much force it smacked against the wall behind it. An ugly imprint of the door handle was left in the wall behind him.

"Passed out?" Ms. Hart asked, breathlessly. "She passed out? What happened? What's wrong?"

Kimberly rolled her eyes. "Mom, I'm fine," she said. "Don't have a spaz attack. You're acting like you haven't seen someone pass out before." She shook her head, leaning out of the way when her mother leaned over to envelop her in a hug. How much longer was she going to be treated like a baby? She was sixteen for God's sake, had her own license, her own car, was a power ranger! And yet her mother still acted like she was fine china waiting to break at a moment's notice. Her eyes slipped over to the medical…person. "Will you tell her I'm fine?"

He smiled, removing the stethoscope he'd pressed against her chest to listen to her heartbeat. He pulled the earpieces from his ears and held them around his neck before folding his arms. "Was your balance off at any other time today, Kimberly?" He asked, studying her face as he waited for the answer. "Any weakness or dizziness?"

Kimberly shook her head. Would they know she was lying just by looking at her? Would they know she'd been dizzy since first arriving at the competition earlier that morning? That she had been fighting off a swimming heard and dull thoughts to focus on her routine. "No, not really."

"Nauseous?"

Was he staring at her? Did he knew she was lying? Why was it getting so hot all of a sudden? Could he see right through her? Still, Kimberly kept her face as neutral as possible as she shook her head, this time bringing up her foot to rest on the edge of the examining table to wrap her arms around her upraised knee. She brought up her hand and started to chew on her thumbnail.

Mrs. Hart hovered by Kimberly's side. "But, I don't understand," Ms. Hart said, clutching at the strap to her purse. She shifted it up over her shoulder before tightening her grasp on the strap once more. Of course, Kimberly noted, she didn't put it on the ground. It was too expensive to do so. "Why did this happen? She's never passed out before."

"Well, that's what I'm trying to understand," the doctor—Kimberly finally remembered—said. The doctor appointed to the gymnastics center for any injuries occurred during competition. She'd seen him pointed out when she and the rest of her team first arrived. If they had any injuries or pains, they were to immediately go to him. "Were you feeling dizzy?"

"I don't think so," Kimberly lied.

"Kim, did you have anything to eat today?"

"Yeah a banana." It was the truth and yet she couldn't help but feel the guilt that came over her. So she ate just a banana? What was so bad about that? It was enough to give her something to ease the butterflies that were flapping through her stomach, but not so much it'd keep her full and weigh her down.

"That's not enough, Kim," Ms. Hart lectured.

The doctor nodded in agreement. "I think you really need to start loading up on carbs, Kimberly, especially on days like this when you're pushing yourself real hard."

"I usually do," Kimberly lied again. She couldn't help herself. Lowering her thumb from her mouth, Kimberly started to tug at the strings on her sneakers, alternately tightening and loosening it over and over. "it's just that I was so busy this morning…"

"Mhm." Did he believe her? It sounded like he did, but the way he looked at her…? "Well, I understand your concern, Ms. Hart, but it's really not that unusual to see, especially in young athletes who reach this level." Finally, he smiled, making Kimberly relax. He believed her. "Especially when those athletes are always running around doing something to show how they can make this world a better place. It was you I saw in the newspaper for the garden club, right?"

Kimberly blushed in embarrassment. "Yeah, we're working to replace all of the foliage around the library. After that, we're going to do the park."

"Well, it sounds like you have a lot on your plate." The doctor patted her on the shoulder. "Take care of yourself, Kimberly."

"I will. Thank you." Kimberly glanced at her mother as soon as the doctor left the room. She could see the worry in her face and said, "Mom, I'm fine."

Ms. Hart started to protest but stopped, taking a step back when Coach Schmidt burst through the doors of the medical room with a big grin on his face. "Hey, how you feeling?" He asked Kimberly. "Like a champ? Like someone who placed in the top three? Like someone going to the…" he paused for dramatic effect. "Divisionals?"

"What?" Kimberly squealed covering her mouth with her hands. "No way. You're not serious!" But Coach Schmidt was indeed serious and the grin on his face proved it to her. He opened his arms and enveloped Kimberly in a tight hug as they celebrated the news. Ms. Hart stood off to the side, chewing her lower lip in worry while she waited for Coach Schmidt to leave.

"Thank you for coming," Coach Schmidt said to Ms. Hart when he was leaving. "It's always nice to see the family and friends to be here for their achievements." He turned back to Kimberly. "I'll see you bright and early at our next practice. Get some rest. You deserve it."

"Yes, I will. Thank you Coach Schmidt, for everything." She laced her hands together and held them in her lap. Kimberly caught her mother's eye and squealed again. "Can you believe it mom, divisionals?"

"I'm excited for you, Kim," Ms. Hart said. "But—"

Kimberly knew what was coming. A lecture. Something that would make her roll her eyes and wonder what it was that her mother would do to keep her from fulfilling her potential now. Ever since she joined the team, her mother had consistently been reminding her about her school work and other obligation she had. It was always such a downer, especially when it came so soon after her accomplishments.

"But what, mom?" Kimberly asked, a harsh edge to her tone.

"But Kim, your friends aren't here," Ms. Hart pointed out. Kimberly bowed her head at the admission. "I saved some seats for them and none of them showed up." Kimberly looked away. Ms. Hart waited for a few moments in silence then reached out, smoothing her daughter's hair from her face. Kimberly backed out of the way, doing her best to keep from meeting her mother's gaze. "What's going on, honey?"

"Nothing." Kimberly shrugged. "We're just…kind of in a fight."

* * *

 **Four Months Ago**

"And then you multiple the numbers here," Billy said, scribbling a pencil over the side of his notebook. He looked over at Kimberly, who held her chin in her palm, staring at her own notebook. "Kim, did you hear me?"

"What?" Kimberly lifted her head and looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry, Billy. I guess I've just had a lot on my mind lately."

Billy smiled kindly. "I'm sure that you're a little nervous about the try-outs tonight," he said. "Kim, you're an amazing gymnast, I don't understand why you'd be so worried."

Kimberly lowered her voice and turned away from the front of the classroom. She and Billy were in study hall, one of the few without their friends, and Billy was doing her a big favor trying to help her with her math homework. Of course, with him being in the advanced math class it made things easier, but he was also very good to talk to. She cherished her friendship with Billy, he had a way of talking to her that was very honest and kind at the same time, even if he was giving her bad news or had to be brutally honest about something. She greatly admired him for it.

She was the kind of girl that kept things to herself unless it was something very exciting. Her true, deep emotions was even something she had difficult telling Tommy from time to time. But Billy, he was always the one she was able to be completely herself around. Maybe he felt the same way with her, too? He did talk about his insecurities with her, wondering if he were _too_ smart, _too_ nice, _too_ nerdy for people to take him seriously. Too… _Billy_ to have someone care for him the same way Jason, Trini, Kimberly, and Tommy did.

"This is a huge thing for me, Billy," Kimberly explained. "If I don't get it, I don't know what I'd do."

"You have education to fall back on," Billy pointed out.

Kimberly snorted. "No offense, Billy. But the idea of having to rely on my education isn't exactly keeping hope alive. I'm not that smart."

"You're very smart, Kim. Maybe not in the ways _you_ think are important, but in the ways that others appreciate." Billy ran a hand through his hair and leaned back in his seat.

He glanced at the teacher as she looked up from the paperwork on her desk, ready to shush whomever was talking. He flashed her a smile before turning back to his work. They moved along in silence for a few moments before Billy started to whisper again. He wouldn't get in trouble, even if they got caught, he knew. The teachers admired his academic talents enough that it was hard for him to get in trouble.

"Gymnastics is something you love, Kim. I don't think you'd ever give that up, even if you're nervous."

"Not unless I had to." Kimberly nodded towards the communicator that sat on her wrist and his. "We don't know what'll happen. And if things get worse, then I'll have to make a choice. It'll be easy."

"We can hold off the monsters as long as you need to if—"

"—No way, Billy. I made this promise to Zordon and Alpha and I'm going to keep that promise. No matter what."

"What about the promise you made yourself?" Billy reminded her. "About being the best gymnast you can be?"

Kimberly smiled, giggled to herself. "That was years ago, Billy. And I still plan on doing that, it's my dream. But there are other responsibilities we have." She glanced at the notes Billy had written down in his own notebook then quickly followed it in her own. "Now, what about you? What's your dream? Nobel Prize? World domination?"

Billy smirked. "I think world domination goes along with the Nobel Prize."

"But there must be something."

Billy shrugged. "I try not to think too far in the future. I prefer to live in the present with the new experiments I'm working on for the Command Center. Maybe, one day I can use my talents for other worldly things, but right now the rangers are what's most important."

"Hmm." Kimberly tapped her fingertips against her lips. Then she remembered one of her biggest talents. Not just gymnastics, not just shopping, not just knowing how to put outfits together like no one's business. But matchmaking. She was really good at matchmaking. Who else would've gotten Angela to think about giving Zack a chance—other than Zack himself, of course. Zack was a catch and anyone would be lucky to have him. But Billy, last she remembered he may've had a thing with Trini. "Billy, what happened with you and Trini?"

Billy blinked in surprise, at the sudden subject change. "Nothing."

"Well, I mean, at one point I thought you guys really liked each other."

"We did. Or, I believe we did. But I also knew how she felt about Jason and felt he was a better match for me. But Trini and I are still best friends, Kim." He gave her a funny smile. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Nothing. I was just asking." Kimberly gathered her things together as the bell rang. It was the end of the day, she had to get her things together and get down to the gymnastics center. It was time for her try-out. "I'll see you later Billy." She threw her arm around Billy's shoulders, gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for helping me out. You're a real friend."

Billy blushed. "Good luck, Kim. I'll see you at the game later."

Kimberly smiled and waved then hurried out of the library and to her locker. She exchanged everything for the books she needed and put them in her backpack before racing out of the school. She hurried across the parking lot and to Tommy's truck, jumping into the passenger seat and tossed her backpack into the backseat all before closing the door.

Tommy jumped and looked at her. "Is Rita after you?" He asked then laughed when Kimberly gave him a look. "It's just…you're a lot more excited than you were earlier today."

"Yeah, well, earlier today my try-out wasn't so soon," Kimberly said. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and buckled up as Tommy pulled out of the school parking lot. She shook out her hand. "Oh my gosh, I'm so nervous. I know I shouldn't be, but I can't help it."

"Well, from what you told me about your mom and your financial situation, I can understand," Tommy said.

Kimberly smiled at him, making him smile back. He always understood her, always loved her unconditionally. Even if she was acting a little crazy. And she knew she was being crazy at this point, she _was_ a good gymnast, she knew it herself, she wouldn't continue to move up in the gymnastics world if she couldn't. Why couldn't she remember that when it really counted?

And still, Tommy was there for her through everything. How did she get so lucky to love someone so much? Tommy must've had that same thought for her took his right hand off the steering wheel and reached over to grab hers. He pulled her hand up and kissed the back of it, making Kimberly grin.

"You're going to be great, Beautiful. I know it."

Now if only she could prove it.

Tommy arrived at the gymnastics center and Kimberly slowly made her way inside while Tommy parked the car. That had been the plan, she'd get started and he'd slowly come in later. That way she could get some time to herself and figure out how the try-out was going to go. Her mother wasn't invited, she made Kimberly nervous and besides, Kim wanted to surprise her with the good news. And…honestly, she didn't know how Tommy and her mother would be when they were together.

Her mom didn't like Tommy. _That's not exactly true,_ Kimberly reminded herself. She liked Tommy just fine, she just didn't like how much time they spent together. Didn't like how they were in constant communication, always around each other, thought they were too young to truly know what it was like to be in love. So she tried to keep them as separate as possible and when they were together, Ms. Art was nice. But 'nice' wasn't accepting and 'accepting' wasn't that she understood how truly in love her daughter was.

If they were at the tryouts together…

Kimberly shuddered at the thought.

"Everyone, please, we'd like to start!" Kimberly's heart leapt into her chest when she head Coach Schmidt's voice. She hurried over to where the other girls and boys—a _large_ group of girls and boys—were standing around the famed coach. Their parents and friends all sat in the nearby bleachers and spoke quietly amongst each other. "I'll give you five minutes to change and then I expect you to go through each of the pieces of equipment that have been set up. Please do your best, we will be watching everyone and I will be contacting those that I'd like to speak to further."

Kimberly held her breath as Coach Schmidt's eyes moved over the crowd. She was sure, at one point, he looked directly at her and smiled. There had been rumors of Coach Schmidt watching her and the others on her team for a while now. Rumors he'd made it to their competitions sometimes, heard he'd watched taped practices and competitions. Kimberly could see her teammates standing in the crowd, bouncing on their toes, their fingers twiddling at their sides. They were all nervous, everyone in the room. The energy was electrified, crackling and swirling around everyone.

Kimberly took a deep breath and rolled back her shoulders, held her head high.

She was going to do this.

After changing in the girls' locker room, Kimberly went with everyone and flipped, cartwheeled, somersaulted, and flew on each of the contraptions that had been set up for them. The uneven bars, the parallel bars, the balance beam, even the practice mats for regular floor routines. And Kimberly busted out every one of her best tricks in her repertoire. As she finished each routine with polite applause, she could hear Tommy clapping the loudest, Kimberly would glance over at Coach Schmidt to see what he was thinking.

Every time he'd look away or would be scribbling on his clipboard. It made Kimberly work that much harder, motivated her to stay as strong as possible. By the end of the tryout, she was exhausted with all the energy she put into her moves and waited anxiously with the others to know how she fared.

"Oh, Tommy, I'm so nervous," Kimberly said after a break. She and Tommy headed outside to get away from the stuffy air and from the other nervous gymnast staying inside. She twisted her fingers. "What if I don't make it?"

"Then you keep competing," Tommy said. He put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her to his side. "Even if you have a major setback, which I don't think this will be, you're not going to give up. I know you, Kim, you'd be so angry with yourself if you gave up…" He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "And I won't let you."

"I might need you to remind me of that," Kimberly said, wrapping her arms around Tommy's waist. She tilted her head back and rested her chin on his stomach. She loved their height difference, him being almost a solid foot taller than her. When she was next to him, he made her feel safe and comforted and…and everything. "I'm really freaking out here."

"Well don't, you're amazing." He gave her a kiss and when she pulled back, Kimberly grabbed the side of his head and held him to her, continuing to kiss him. She needed that kiss, needed the distraction. Needed to feel his arms around her, reminding her of the inner strength she had and continued to exhibit when as a ranger. But pink ranger Kimberly and regular Kimberly were so different.

She needed to find a way to bring them together and as long as Tommy and her friends were by her side in both avenues of their lives, she could do it.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," a voice came from behind them. Embarrassed, Kimberly whirled around and wiped off her mouth with the back of her arm. Out the corner of her eye, she could see Tommy do the same before nervously pulling his shoulder-length hair behind his ears. Coach Schmidt didn't seem embarrassed for interrupting them. "But I felt I really needed to speak with you Miss. Hart."

"Y-you know my name?" Kimberly stammered. She felt herself growing faint and grabbed onto Tommy to keep herself upright.

"Kimberly Hart, sixteen years old and one of the best gymnasts I've seen in a long time," Coach Schmidt continued. He came to a stop in front of them and held out his hand towards the teens. Kimberly quickly shook his hand and he moved onto Tommy. "I'm sorry, and you are."

"Oh, I'm Tommy Oliver." He shook Coach Schmidt's hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Coach Schmidt turned his gaze back to Kimberly and smiled. "I wanted to speak with you, Miss. Hart. I've been watching you for a long time."

"You have?" Kimberly's eyebrows rose. _Don't freak out now, Kim. Stay calm._ Tommy squeezed her hand and they exchanged excited glances. "I mean, that's great."

"And I feel you have an amazing potential to be even greater than you already are," Coach Schmidt continued. "With a bit of practice and pushing from a good coach." He looked at her closely. "That means going from gymnastics as a hobby, as a game to gymnastics as a serious business. How many hours a week do you practice?"

Kimberly chewed her lower lip as she thought about it. If there weren't any monsters to fight she could get a lot of practice in. But then there were the other clubs and social events she had to make appearance at. But it was mostly the monster fights that took up her time. "About thirty hours," she finally said.

"I want forty," Coach Schmidt said.

"I can do that."

"You've _got_ to do that."

Kimberly smiled then paused. "Wait, does that mean…?" She could feel Tommy's grasp tighten even further. "Does that mean you want me to train with you? For the Olympics? You want me to train with you for the Olympics?"

"The Olympics is the goal, but I'll be glad to train with you as far as I can make you go," Coach Schmidt said. His smile nearly split her face wide. "That is, if you'll have me as your coach."

Kimberly couldn't stop herself before squealing with excitement, Tommy wrapping his arms around her shoulders to rock her back and forth. He gave her a big, noisy kiss on the cheek, murmuring, "I knew you could do it," in her ear, sending chills down her spine.

Finally, Kimberly composed herself and cleared her throat. She threw her shoulders back, held her head high and thrusted her hand towards Coach Schmidt. "Coach Schmidt, I'd love to work with you."

Coach Schmidt grasped her hand and shook it firmly, making it official.

She did it.

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm sorry I haven't been able to respond to any of your guys' reviews, of which I'm so grateful to get, but my work schedule has been so sporadic lately that I haven't had much time to do much other than write. But I'm hoping I have things worked out now. So, thank you for all of the feedback, for those that read _Headstrong_ it will be updated soon.

Also, _Raxius_ , I'm unsure so far if Kat will make an appearance in this story.

 **~Av**


	4. You've Got A Friend

**Four Months Ago**

* * *

Kimberly giggled quietly as she brought her hands up to run through Tommy's hair, being sure to pull it form its ponytail. She never understood why he preferred to have his hair tied back, sure it got in the way of martial arts and football, and even their suits when they morphed pulled their hair back. (Which was a godsend when she was having a bad hair day). But Tommy's long hair was sexy and Kim always loved it about him.

She continued to run her fingers through his hair, making her nails gently run over his scalp, making Tommy closed his eyes and let out a quiet moan. Then he lifted his hand and grabbed her wrists. "Why do you always insist on playing with my hair?"

"Because I love it." Kimberly leaned in and gave him a peck on the lips. "And I love you."

"I love you, too," Tommy said. He reached up and cupped her cheeks, gently running his thumbs over her skin. "So much." Kimberly blushed at the praise and the two came together for another lengthy kiss. Then Tommy sighed and leaned back in his seat, his eyes searching hers.

Kimberly tilted her head to the side. "What?" She asked quietly.

"Nothing," Tommy said quickly, to ease the worries that were clearly coming to her. He could see her eyes darken as she started to chew her lower lip. The sure-fire sign she was showing off her vulnerable side that she hated to show. "It's nothing, Beautiful, really. I'm so glad for you and proud of what you managed to do today. I guess I'm just a little—"

"—worried?" Kimberly broke in, twisting he hands in her lap.

"Yeah, but not about us, about—"

"—The rangers?"

Tommy smiled. Kimberly always managed to know what he was thinking or feeling, even when he wasn't quite sure what he felt on his own. And vice-versa, Kimberly realized. There were many times where she had trouble explaining what she was feeling or what her problems were and he'd be right there with the _exact_ words to explain it all.

The thought of her ranger duties came to mind as soon as Coach Schmidt had told her she was going be training for his Olympic team. It was a risk she always knew she'd have to deal with. How long she would be able to do both. She loved being a gymnast, loved everything about it. Even found waking up in the odd hours of the morning when everyone else—even Rita and Zedd—were asleep.

It was like the world was hers. Everyone else was asleep and she was ready to take every moment of the silence that surrounded her. She was able to stay focused as she flew around the uneven bars, the parallel bars, the balance beam, and work on her floor routine until her alarm went off, telling her she needed to get showered and head to school where she put in a full day of classes and homework. Then there was ranger duties. It wasn't something she was supposed to enjoy per se, but knowing she was doing a lot to save the city gave her an adrenaline rush and a sense of pride that couldn't be matched.

Not being there to help her friends…that was the part that scared her. What if there was a ranger problem that came up and her friends were on the brink of death? And she wasn't there to save them? What if she was the only one who stood in the way of Rita and Zedd's taking over the city and she was stuck in a late gymnastics class?

"Kim, listen to me," Tommy said seriously. He grasped Kimberly's face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. It made her feel equal parts warm and tingly. She loved how sweet and gentle Tommy could be as much as he could be forceful and diligent. "No matter what, we're all going to make sure this happens for you. We won't pull you in unless we need to and I'm sure Zordon and Alpha will do the same. Don't worry about it, Kim."

Kimberly smiled and reached up, pressing her hands atop his. "You always know how to make me feel better."

"That's my job," Tommy replied with an air of pride.

Kimberly smiled and the two came together for another kiss, this time filled with as much love as Kimberly could put into it. Then she pulled back and looked at her watch, making a face. They had hit so much traffic on the way back, not to mention Kimberly having a long conversation with her mother about the team once they arrived at school to explain everything that went on with the tryout and what it meant that she was now on the team.

"We're late," Kimberly said.

"I hope we didn't miss too much," Tommy said. "But, it was worth it, I'm sure Av will understand."

Kimberly nodded back and the two climbed from the car and hurried to the school's gym. They heard the cheering long before opening the door. They stepped onto the basketball court and Kimberly craned her head to look at the score. A close one. 20-22, and it looked like Angel Grove was winning. Oh, yeah. They were _really_ late. From what Avalon explained, the way volleyball was scored at their level was to play the best two games out of three, first to 25 within each game won. Sometimes it went on to best three of five.

Leaning the other way, Kimberly saw that it was the last game of the night. They really _were_ a lot later than she thought. She exchanged a guilty glance with Tommy, who grimaced. Okay, maybe her mom had something on her when she said her head was in the clouds when she was with Tommy. But, honestly, being around hi and able to talk to him and make out with him consumed her thoughts on nearly a daily basis. It was like her mother didn't remember what it was like being a teenager. It couldn't have been _that_ long ago. Kimberly was seventeen and her mother had her when she was very young.

 _Or maybe that's it,_ Kimberly thought. Her mother was afraid she'd end up pregnant or whatever. Not like Kim had any time for that anyway. It was too hard to get an adequate amount of time alone. And that was _before_ ranger duties got in the way.

When a time-out whistle blew, Kimberly grabbed Tommy's hand and pulled him across the side of the court and over to the bleacher where the rest of their friends were. Trini waved them over and Kimberly hurried up to them, plopping down next to her best friend and gave her a hug in greeting. "Hey."

"Hey, how was it?" Trini asked.

"Tell you later, 'kay?" Kimberly replied, turning her gaze to the court. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around everything."

She watched as Avalon stood with the rest of her team, dressed in her volleyball uniform; a black and white volleyball top, black lycra shorts, and her hair pulled back into a high ponytail. The only hint to the orange she nearly always wore was the color of the scrunchie in her hair and the color on the communicator on her wrist.

 _Honestly,_ Kimberly thought as she looked over her friend _, it was a good look for her_. The most human. Normally, Avalon wore her uniform of sorts of a leather jacket, a white t-shirt, orange jean shorts, and black leather boots. No matter the weather, Avalon would always have on her leather jacket and it wasn't a fashion statement. It took Kimberly and the others a while to realize it was to show her status as part of the Vipers, the street gang within Angel Grove. Kimberly shook her head. Her mother had warned her about the dark side of Angel Grove numerous times but Kimberly never thought she'd be one who had a connection to that side of the city.

Not that she thought Avalon was dangerous in anyway, she was a ranger for a reason. All of the rangers had tried to convince her to leave the gang numerous times to only a shrug and silence in response. Sometimes Avalon would grimly say, "It's harder than you think," but wouldn't elaborate. Thankfully, it wasn't anything that had been a problem as of late.

Not like other things.

"Does that mean you made it?" Jason pressed from Trini's other side, arm looped around the yellow ranger's shoulders. Kimberly noticed and gave Trini a sly smile, making her blush and duck her head. Jason, on the other hand, simply grinned.

"Shh," Kimberly said instead. She kept her eyes on the court. "I'm trying to pay attention."

Instead of honoring her wishes, Jason and Trini turned to Tommy and asked the same question. Billy, squeezed between the two, sat quietly as he watched the game, hands clasped between his knees. Kimberly noticed his thumbs and fingers twitching every few seconds, running over the other. The only sign of his own nervousness. As Tommy repeated Kimberly's statement that she wanted to talk about it later, Kimberly continued to scan the stands.

She spotted Zack sitting with Angel and the rest of the cheerleaders, trying once again to get her attention. And it seemed to be working, Angela continued to smile and giggle at whatever Zack was saying, making him lean further into her. Then Kimberly spotted Avalon's little sister Bailey, and the ranger's friend, Fred Kelman a few seats away. Kimberly caught Bailey's eye and waved, making Bailey wave back enthusiastically.

Kimberly smiled. Oh to be so young, she remembered it well. But she also wasn't a ranger when so young either and Bailey seemed to be handling it well. _How can she handle that and I can't even begin to think about being a gymnast and a ranger?_ Kimberly thought. For some insight, she turned back to Trini and asked in a low voice, "What's going on with Khoa now?"

Trini rolled her eyes. "His parents are begging mine not to press charges but my mom and dad are insisting on it," she said. "If things continue to go the way they are, then we may need to have a trial." She crossed her legs at the knee. "There's another hearing for it this weekend. We're supposed to meet up."

"Oh." Kimberly was sorry she asked. It always made her so angry to know what Khoa was doing to Trini and how the rest of them hadn't known. There were too many times Kimberly thought about how she should've been there for Trini, how she should've seen the signs, how…how she should've been a better friend.

So she worked hard to do it now. _And that's why you have to make sure you can keep your commitments,_ Kimberly reminded herself, clenching her hands into fists. _That you can be as good a friend as you are a ranger. As good a ranger as you are a gymnast._ Kimberly leveled her gaze back on the court as a cheer rose over the crowd, the Angel Grove students cheering as the volleyball team went back on the court.

Kimberly stood up and let out a loud whoop prompting Jason, Tommy, Billy, and Trini to stand up and cheer for Avalon, who glanced at her friends as if they were crazy and waved low by her side. Her freckled cheeks flushed with embarrassment but she gave a small, pleased smile, moving to her place on the court, bending to put her hands on her knees as she waited for the play to start again.

When she wasn't cheering, Kimberly held her breath as the score continued to rack up on Angel Grove's side with Stone Canyon quickly catching up. When the score was 24-24 an electrified energy filled the gym and Kimberly found herself quickly sucked into it as well. She cheered as loud as the rest of the stands as the ball continued to bounce back and forth across the net with harsh strikes and set up plays. Her heart leapt every time she saw the ball move at rapid speeds towards the floor of the court on the side Angel Grove was defending.

They came close to a point when a tall girl on the Angel Grove team spiked the ball towards the floor, but Stone Canyon quickly sent it back. Avalon raced to the side, keeping her eyes on the ball a it arched towards the floor then quickly fell to the pads that covered her knees and used them to propel herself forward. Bringing her hands together, she extended her arms then brought them down and up to send the ball sailing back above her head towards the net. Kimberly gasped loudly, clasping her hands over her mouth.

The ball went back towards the net where the Angel Grove team set the ball up to be sent over the net. With a hard spike, Angel Grove knocked the ball to the ground where the outstretched fingers of Stone Canyon barely missed it and the ball hit the floor.

"Yes!" Kimberly squealed, her voice immediately drowned out by the cheering around her. She bounced up and down and clasped her hands together, watching the volleyball team come together in a group hug as they celebrated their win.

It took a few minutes for the rangers to leave the gym with the rest of the excited crowd, but a further twenty minutes for Avalon to join her friends after leaving the locker room with a gym bag slung over her shoulder. Bailey hurried to her sister and wrapped her arms around her sister's neck before Avalon was then hugged on both sides by Kimberly and Trini.

"Av, you were so good!" Trini said, pushing her hair back behind her ears.

"That slide at the end was very impressive," Billy added with an encouraging nod. Bashfully, he pushed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. "I haven't seen anything like it."

"Then you need to come to more games, Smurf," Avalon teased. "I can do a lot more than ruin my knees for the rest of my life. But that's future me's problem." She laughed along with her friends, accepting the hugs that Jason and Tommy gave her.

Zack ruffled her hair, making it stick up in all directions. "You did good, Kid!" He crowed.

Avalon laughed harder and shoved the black ranger away from her. She kept her arms around her sister's shoulders and looked at Kimberly with raised eyebrows. "Speaking of, how'd your meeting go, Pinkerbell? We're dying to know."

"Yeah!" Bailey bounced on her toes. "What happened?"

"Welll…" Kimberly tried to hold back her excitement but caught Tommy's eye. She grinned and said, "I made it. Coach Schmidt wants to coach me to make it to the Olympics." Now all of the cheering and hugs were laden on the pink ranger, who blushed happily. Her cheeks were already starting to hurt from smiling so much.

"Oh my God, Kim, that's amazing!" Trini cried, grabbing her hands. "When do you start?"

"As soon as possible," Kimberly said. "Coach Schmidt wants to talk to a few more people, so I think we're starting this weekend. I'm so excited. I can't wait to get started."

"Hey, let's celebrate at the Juice Bar," Jason suggested. "All you can eat, even Ernie's famous cheesecake."

"No, no." Kimberly shook her head. "Guys, this should be for Avalon." She liked the attention but sometimes it got to be a bit too much, especially when her nervous doubts were starting to make its way into her. Her stomach was already starting to feel a little queasy, the reality of everything hitting her at once.

"Please." Avalon held up her hands. "This is a silly high school game. What you've done is amazing, Kim, I'm proud of you." Hearts practically appeared in Kimberly's eyes at Avalon's words. They immediately deflated and Kimberly pouted when the orange ranger continued with, "I reckon that's probably the only time I'm going to say that, by the way."

Bailey giggled quietly.

"We're all excited for you, Kim," Tommy said, taking her hand and squeezing it firmly in his. "You're going to do great."

Kimberly smiled and nodded, following her friends to the parking lot to head to Ernie's. If she wanted to be taken seriously and improve, she needed to tone up a bit. That night was probably the last time she was really going to pig out.

But she was going to enjoy it. It was a celebration, right?

* * *

 **A/N:** So, as I've said before the stories in the Powerless series will reference each other from time to time as little Easter Eggs but there isn't any order you need to read any of them. I'm sorry for the time it took for me to update again, thank for being so patient, guys.

 **~Av**


	5. She Was Going To Miss Doughnuts

**Four Months Ago**

* * *

Kimberly licked a drop of orange juice off her thumb and ran her finger down the recipe in the book that sat beside her and the other ingredients that sat around the blender. Then she slipped a few pieces of sliced banana into the concoction and made sure to add a bit of honey before sticking the lid on—tightly, she already made that mistake—and started up the blender. Holding her hand atop the blender, Kimberly picked up the book in her right hand and flipped to the next page, looking over the list of exercises that could be done.

Sit-ups, push-ups, crunches, leg lifts, bridges, squats, lunges, tricep dips. And that was all before getting some free weights to start working on those muscles even further. Still, there was a lot more that she could do to get into the shape she needed to be in. Kimberly twisted her mouth to the side and waited for the blender to continue mixing her smoothie, stopping when it was the right consistency. She pulled the lid off her blender and dumped the contents into a large glass.

Kimberly pressed her lips to the glass and tilted her head to take a long sip, sighing heavily and licking her lips. Delicious. She needed to suggest the recipe to Ernie, it was one of the best things she'd ever tasted. Even if she had to get up super early to make it.

"Kimmie?"

Kimberly looked up as her mother shuffled into the kitchen, pulling her robe tight around her body and smoothing back her wild hair. "Hi, mom!"

Ms. Hart wined at the cheerfulness her daughter exhibited so early in the morning. She stifled a yawn and ventured further into the spacious kitchen. "What are you doing so early in the morning? Do you have any idea of what time it is?"

Kimberly smiled sheepishly. "I know, it's really early. I'm sorry I woke you up. I needed to make sure I got everything I needed done before practice. I'm stating my diet today and I needed to get up early to make sure I had everything we needed." Not that she was going to tell her mother she teleported to the 24-hour grocery store to get some things. "And then I was looking into some of the exercises I need to start doing. See?" She pushed the book towards her mother, who didn't reach out to take it.

Instead, Ms. Hart stared at her daughter, suddenly wide awake. "You? On a diet?" She asked her daughter. "Kim, you're as skinny as a stick. What do you need to be on a diet for?"

"To stay healthy," Kimberly said simply. She closed her book with a loud thump and set it aside not he counter, being careful not to knock over her smoothie. "To make sure I'm at my best for practice and competition. I'm in a whole other league now, mom. This isn't the same gymnastics team I've been on for years."

"I know that. And you know I'm proud of you for accomplishing something you've wanted since you were a little girl," Ms. Hart said. She reached out and cupped Kimberly's cheek in her hand. "But I don't want you think that you need to go on a diet to be good. You're already amazing."

"I can be better," Kimberly insisted.

"But a diet? Do you listen to yourself when you talk to those Little Angel scouts? How you shouldn't worry so much about your body and what it looks like and just continue to fuel yourself?"

"And that's what I'm doing. Fueling myself with the best food I can give! Here, try some." Kimberly watched as her mother took the glass Kimberly had been drinking from and took a long sip. Ms. Hart smacked her lips after her sip and couldn't help but smile. "That's actually really good." Kimberly beamed. "Okay, lady, you've got me wide awake now. I'm going to get dressed and then we can get a doughnut before going to practice. You may want to diet, but even I know you can't turn down a doughnut."

Kimberly beamed.

* * *

An hour later, Ms. Hart pulled up in front of the gymnastics center. Kimberly unbuckled, her seatbelt smacking into the window from the sudden release of tension, and turned to the back to grab her gym bag. She twisted back to the front and found her mother staring at her. Kimberly smiled, pulling her shoulder length hair behind her ear.

"What?" She asked with a light giggle.

"Nothing," Ms. Hart replied. "It's just…I'm so proud of you."

"I know, you keep saying that."

"It's true, I'm very proud of you." Then Ms. Hart's smile faded a little bit. "But…I've been worrying, too." Kimberly frowned, and Ms. Hart continued. "Say you do make it to the cover of a cereal box or even a magazine. Say you do so well…then what? You'll peak in your teens?"

"Mom, I'm already a lot older than the other girls," Kimberly pointed out. She let out a light huff. "I'm older than some of the ones who are doing their best in the Olympics. And are continuing to do great things. In the gymnastics world, I'm starting to get too old. This is something I really want to do."

"I get that, Kim, I do. You love gymnastics, it's always been a part of your life. But it's not the only part of your life. You have your friends and school and your extra curriculars, are you sure it's really what you want?"

"Yes! I love gymnastics; the competing, all of it."

"You know it means longer hours at the gym, constant aches and pains and disappointments—"

"—Triumphs." Kimberly looked away for a moment. She took in a deep breath to steady herself. He knew her mother was just worried, but there was only so much worries she could take. Soon it would get stuck in her head and it'd be there like a foreign body to fend off. Constantly taking her attention way from her practices. "Mom, I really want to do this. I _can_ do this. Do you remember when I was in first grade and a teacher asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up? What did I say?"

Ms. Hart shook her head. She knew all too well, it was a story spread amongst the family every time she brought home another medal. "An Olympian," she said.

"Exactly. And I'm going to do it." Kimberly leaned forward and kissed her mother on the cheek. "You have to stop worrying about me. I'll be fine. But I really have to go." She opened the car and practically bounced out, her excitement leading the way as she made her way into the gym. She pulled her pigtails behind her ears and looked around at all the boys and girls making their way towards the locker rooms.

"Hey!"

Kimberly turned around and saw a petite girl with blonde hair and a face full of freckles heading her way, dressed in a windbreaker and sweat pants against the chill of the early morning. "Hi." Kimberly squinted as she came closer. She recognized her from the tryouts, her name called out to work with Coach Schmidt soon after Kimberly's. Not that no one knew who she was. Olivia Monroe had been winning competitions up and down the state since she was five. "Olivia, right?"

"Right." Olivia tucked her hair behind her ears. "And you're Kimberly Hart?" Kimberly smiled and nodded. "Right, Coach Schmidt has been talking about you. Good to see that you decided to join us." Kimberly's smile faded when Olivia added, "Welcome to hell," with a flourish of her arms around the gym before heading towards the locker room.

Kimberly chewed her lower lip, looking around at those that were already starting their workouts, prancing across the padded floors and balance beams. She lowered her head and scurried to the locker room, scolding herself the second her feet crossed the threshold. _They're here to do the same thing you want to do. You're all on the same team. Don't be so nervous._ She took in a deep breath and looked around the darkened locker room, finding Olivia already standing at her own, unwrapping a spool of gauze-like athletic tape.

Olivia smiled kindly at her, as if her words of warning to Kimberly had already been forgotten. "You can take any locker you want. There's no claim on them."

"Thanks." Kimberly went to the nearest locker and started to put her things inside. "So, you've been with Coach Schmidt for a while, huh?"

"Yeah, he'd been my coach for a long time," Olivia replied with a proud smile. "Since I was in the second grade. He's the best. He pushes you to be your best and beyond. You find out more about yourself than you'd ever think was possible under his guidance. He makes you the best athlete you can ever be if you put the time into it."

Kimberly nodded as she listened. Worry already started to burn through her stomach. She knew there was the risk of spending a lot of time at the gymnastics center, but rangering had to conflict at some point. It wasn't a matter of 'if' but 'when'. Maybe her mother's worries were a bit more grounded than she originally thought. Just being there, amongst other gymnasts who were so amazing was intimidating.

"But you're going to do great," Olivia added, wrapping up her ankle. "Coach Schmidt always knows talent when he sees it and you definitely have talent."

"I do?"

"Yeah, I've watched you at all of the competitions."

"You have?" Kimberly felt herself flush. It was too hard to wrap her head around it. That Olivia Monroe had watched her competitions and continued to follow her around. To keep an eye on her and her talent.

Olivia laughed. "You sound surprised."

"Well, I mean, you're Olivia Monroe," Kimberly said. She smiled sheepishly and took a step towards her, suddenly feeling more at home. She raised her hands. "Okay, I'm so going to sound like a geek right now, but I've been following your career for as long as I can remember. You've got more gold medals than a bank. I think you're amazing."

A modest smile escaped Olivia's lips. "Well, I'm glad you're a fan. But, we're teammates now, right? So, don't think of me as anyone else but your friend." She gently knocked Kimberly on the shoulder then took in her attire, a gray sweatshirt over a light pink unitard. "And as you friend, I'd like to give you a friendly piece of advice." She tilted her head to the side. "Lose the sweatshirt."

"What? Why?" Kimberly's voice cracked as she looked down at her outfit. Was it not right? Was she wearing the wrong thing? Was there a uniform she didn't know about? What? What? What? Things needed to be perfect, se couldn't do anything wrong on her first day.

Then she lifted her eyes towards Olivia's and saw nothing but amusement dancing in them. Even when it was just a look, Olivia was as graceful as ever. _As graceful as I'll never be._ "Welllll," Olivia drawled, the tip of her tongue curling as she held out the word. "Call it an initiation of sorts. Coach Schmidt is very particular about the way his girls look. And you don't want to add any extra pounds onto the scale."

"Really?"

"It's really stupid." Olivia waved her hand as she rolled her eyes. "But it's something we all have to do. Believe me, you'll get used to it." She looked over her shoulder as the door to the locker room opened and an older woman with a graying bob walked in.

She clapped her hands twice, making Olivia scurry to grab the rest of her things before hurrying out of the locker room. "C'mon girls, we need to get out on the floor! Coach Schmidt hates to wait!" Then she turned to Kimberly and thrust out her hand with gusto. "Hi, Kimberly, I'm Janice Bearman. I'm one of the coaches and also a nurse, trainer, and shrink for the team. So you let me know if there's anything you need, alright."

"Yeah, of course," Kimberly agreed, shaking her hand.

"Good. Now you need to get out on the floor."

"Okay. Oh! Is it alright if I go to the bathroom first?"

Coach Bearman gave her an obvious look up and down before saying, "If you're quick," and left the room. Kimberly made a face at the weird comment, and hurried into the bathroom. She did her business and washed her hands before racing out onto the floor. The moment she stepped out of the locker room Coach Schmidt waved her over to the middle of the floor while he set up a scale.

"Alright, Kim, let's go," Coach Schmidt called, his German accent booming over the gym. He nodded towards the scale. "Hop up and we'll get your weight done."

"Now?" Kimberly asked.

"Yes, I need to establish a base weight for you. I do this to all of he girls. Get up, please."

Kimberly twisted her fingers together at the same time as she twisted her mouth to the side. She looked over at the rest of the team before doing as she was told to climb up onto the scale. Coach Schmidt moved the weights back to and forth to get a good number on the scale to level it out. Kimberly watched his face closely. He resembled Santa Clause in a way, graying hair and rosy cheeks, eyes that gleamed when he was excited. Now they were set in stone while he looked at the numbers, to Kimberly's face, then back to her numbers.

"How tall are you?" He practically barked.

Kimberly blinked rapidly, startled. "Uh, a little over five feet," she answered quietly. "Five, two, I think?" She used to be the shortest of her friends and was reminded of it constantly. Then Avalon joined the team and standing at an even five feet, was a little shorter than Kimberly, who took the heat off her. Though Kimberly was sure Avalon's nickname for her, Pinkerbell, was a subtle dig at it as well.

"Then you'll have to lose a few pounds. Maybe eight."

Kimberly blinked rapidly, again startled. She was always at a good weight, her coaches said so. Now, suddenly, it wasn't good? Wasn't good enough? She pressed her lips together before protesting quietly, "This is average for a girl my height."

Coach Schmidt leveled his eyes at her. "Do you want to be average or do you want to be the best? I am not interested in average," he said firmly. "Whatever you were before is not good enough now. You have to be stronger, faster, higher and the only way you'll do that is with less." He nodded once. "Is that clear?"

Kimberly nodded and stepped away. Olivia immediately took her spot on the scale and Coach Schmidt moved the numbers aside. "An even 90, good job, Olivia!" He held out his hand and Olivia grinned, smacking her palm against it. Coach Schmidt grasped her shoulders and turned her around so that he could present her to the team that stood, arms folded across their chests, to see her beaming face. "Girls, this is what we're striving for. Olivia continues to soar as she executes her moves and trains diligently, feeding her body what it needs to keep up."

Kimberly lifted her chin. Coach Schmidt's words echoed through her head, swirling in a vortex of confusion until it blend in with her mother's words and her own. The same conversation they'd had that morning.

 _"You? On a diet? Kim, you're as skinny as a stick. What do you need to be on a diet for?"_

 _"To stay healthy," Kimberly said simply. She closed her book with a loud thump and set it aside not he counter, being careful not to knock over her smoothie. "To make sure I'm at my best for practice and competition. I'm in a whole other league now, mom. This isn't the same gymnastics team I've been on for years."_

 _"I know that. And you know I'm proud of you for accomplishing something you've wanted since you were a little girl," Ms. Hart said. She reached out and cupped Kimberly's cheek in her hand. "But I don't want you think that you need to go on a diet to be good. You're already amazing."_

 _"I can be better," Kimberly insisted._

 _"But a diet? Do you listen to yourself when you talk to those Little Angel scouts? How you shouldn't worry so much about your body and what it looks like and just continue to fuel yourself?"_

 _"And that's what I'm doing. Fueling myself with the best food I can give! Here, try some." Kimberly watched as her mother took the glass Kimberly had been drinking from and took a long sip. Ms. Hart smacked her lips after her sip and couldn't help but smile. "That's actually really good." Kimberly beamed. "Okay, lady, you've got me wide awake now. I'm going to get dressed and then we can get a doughnut before going to practice. You may want to diet, but even I know you can't turn down a doughnut."_

Kimberly glanced at Olivia and looked away, nervously running her hands over the ends of her pigtails. She tried, in vain, to keep them behind her ears but they continued to pop out. Then Kimberly lowered her hands and started to twist her fingers once more as she thought about the doughnut she had eaten that morning. It had been as delicious as ever, but…she hadn't really needed it. She was already full of the smoothie she'd made that morning, it was the point of having it.

The recipe said it'd give her energy and make her feel full. A good way to cut out a breakfast that was too heavy. Her mother did tend to dote on her when it came to baked goods and breakfasts. She worked most of the day in real estate but wanted to be there for her daughter as much as possible. Her breakfasts were always so delicious, so much so that sometimes Trini, Billy, Zack, and Jason would come over to eat with them as well.

Kimberly tried to convince Tommy to come over, but he refused, saying he was fine having breakfast with his own family. But Kimberly knew he wanted to keep his interactions with her mother short. He liked her, but was aware of what she thought of their relationship. (Kimberly was reminded of it nearly every day).

And now the doughnut her mother insisted she have was sitting heavily in her stomach along with her smoothie. It weighed in her stomach, made her feel heavier than she had been. Maybe that's what had caused her weight to be a little too high for Coach Schmidt.

 _That's it,_ Kimberly decided. _No more doughnuts, no more sweets. Only fresh fruits and vegetables and smoothies. Working with gymnastics, cheerleading, and my ranger duties should take down the rest of these pounds._ Kimberly placed her hands on her hips and nodded.

Right.

That's what she was going to do.

She was going to miss doughnuts, though.

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm so sorry this took so long to upload. This chapter was originally going to be a lot longer, but I split it in half because I didn't feel it meshed well into one chapter. That being said, rangering does come in the next chapter as well as some more focus on the other characters and pairings.

Thanks for being so patient with me, you guys. My work schedule was a bit hectic but now things are becoming more consistent, so I can work my time management better to get these up for you. Next update will be for _Headstrong._

 **~Av**


	6. Dear Diary

"Kim, I told you I wanted you to rest," Ms. Hart said, shaking her head as she watched her daughter so a multitude of sit-ups along the floor. "Working out is not resting. I mean, I know it's not the same as flipping across some practice mats but..." She folded her arms and let out a weary sigh. "I think this a little overkill."

Kimberly, with her hands locked behind her head, and knees upraised, crunched towards her thighs. She could see the fat curling on her stomach with each lift. Motivation. It was pure motivation to get herself as far as she could in the gymnastics world. Of course her mother wouldn't understand. She wasn't a gymnast an athlete, someone who was doing everything they could to get to the Olympics. Rest was for the weary.

She told her mother as such, making her scoff and fold her arms. "Since when are you so philosophical?"

"Since I started taking a philosophy class in school," Kimberly replied with more spite than she meant to. She thought for a moment then added, "Not to mention, I almost got second place today. I can't be in second, I need to be in first."

"Second's not so bad, Kim," Ms. Hart pointed out. Kimberly tried not to roll her eyes. How many times had she heard this lecture? 'Second place isn't the end of the world'. 'Second place is to be celebrated as much as first'. 'Don't get too upset if you're not the best, someone always has to come in second'. "Someone _always_ has to come in second."

Kimberly giggled to herself when it was proven how well she knew her mother. It was the same worried concern she received ever time she trained for a competition. But Kimberly was her only daughter, her only child, her pride and joy. She had to worry about someone and it was sweet. Kimberly didn't know how well she'd do if it weren't for the constant support her mother gave. "Not me, I'm a winner." Kimberly finally leaned back against the floor, her arms above her head while she tried to catch her breath. "I've won everything so far and I'm going to keep winning. If I take too much time to rest, then Olivia and other people will get ahead of me and…" she shook her head. "I can't have that."

"And you don't think they're trying to do the same thing?" Ms. Hart pressed. "Pushing themselves to the limit to win. To beat you? Kim, someone's always going to be the best and it's not always going to be you."

Kimberly grinned at her. "That's what you think."

"And what's this about your fight with your friends?" Kimberly's smile faded and she turned her despondent gaze to the ceiling. "What's going on? You guys are as thick as thieves, I can barely go a day without one of them being in this house eating our food."

"I told you mom, it's just a stupid fight. We'll stop being so mad at each other at some point. But…right now, we're not talking. Besides, I'm to busy right now."

"You're too busy to make up with your friends? Kim, you love your friends."

"Mom, just drop it, okay? We're in a fight. Friends fight all the time. That's it!" She sat up, curling her arms around her legs. "But if you want me to rest, fine. I'll just sit here and we can watch Hallmark movies and eat ice cream until we feel fat." This time, the smile that came to her face was forced enough that it felt like her face was cracking.

It was enough to fool her mother. Ms. Hart smiled fondly at her daughter and turned to leave the room. Kimberly went back to doing her crunches. Arms behind head, ankles crossed and feet hovering off the floor at six inches to give it ab it more difficulty. She had to keep going to get her daily goal in.

Up. Down. Up. Down. Up…what was that sound?

Confused, Kimberly looked to the side as she heard crinkling paper. _Crinkling paper?_ Kimberly dropped back to the floor and sat up fully to look at her mother. What was she…Kimberly tilted her head to the side, leaning back, and spotted her mother reading something. Kimberly narrowed her eyes, trying to find the title of the book her mother was reading. No, it wasn't a book…it was.

"Mom!" Kimberly yelped. She got to her feet and clambered across her bed to snatch the journal from her mother's hands. "What are you doing?" She grabbed the notebook from her mother's hands and held it against her chest. "That's private!"

"Kimmie," Ms. Hart said slowly. She turned to face her daughter, eyes filled with concern. "That journal…"

"We're supposed to write in it for school," Kimberly explained. "It's a project for our English class. We're supposed to write in it every day. You know,"—she gave a disarming smile—"All of our thoughts and experiences." She shrugged. "Even the boring school stuff."

"Kim, that wasn't boring school stuff that was a food tracker," Ms. Hart cried. "All that was in there was how much you've been eating."

Kimberly blinked and looked away, trying to keep her composure despite how hard she was starting to tremble. "Well, it's good to keep it in one place when I'm also working out," she said. "Ms. Appleby says it would help keep me grounded so I can keep up with my schoolwork and gymnastics practice."

Ms. Hart started to sputter, trying to get the words out. Kimberly cringed as she waited for what her mother had to say, wondering if everything was all going to come crashing down. It was just because she didn't understand anything .She didn't know what it was like to be a teenager with all of the stress of being a teenager in a relationship and being a ranger and…and everything else.

"Kim," Ms. Hart said slowly, firmly. She kept her eyes on her daughter, silently daring her to move or lie. "Is there anything you'd like to tell me?"

Kimberly let out a low breath, trying to figure out what to say.

But for the first time in the last couple of months, her mind drew a blank.

She was out of excuses.

* * *

 **Four Months Ago**

 _So, I don't know if I should start this as 'dear diary'. That sort of lame, it's something my mom would've written in her journal. And besides, this isn't really like a diary. It's a lot more rad. We get to talk about whatever we want, not just what's going on in our lives. Well, I guess it sort of is like a diary when you think of it like that, but like I said, it's totally rad!_

 _Only Ms. Appleby is going to read it. And it's only for a few months. We're not being graded on how we write or even what we write about, but that we've finished the assignment. Which is great, because it's one less grade I ever have to worry about. There's so much to worry about now, I mean, my math grade isn't so stellar. And there's always History and science and…okay, confession time. School has never been my best subject. I have to work my butt off every time just to get a good grade. But Billy and Trini are so sweet, they always help me out whenever I ask for it._

 _And Jason and Zack help me out with the subjects they're good at as well. Tommy…well…Tommy needs as much as help as I do sometimes. I love him, but he's really…he can be scatterbrained at times. How many times have we had dates planned that he'd been late to or forgotten because of it? A few too many to name. I'd been mad at first, but Tommy's always so sad about it afterwards and I know he doesn't do it on purpose. And besides, he's so sweet and nice and sexy and...  
_

 _Ahem._

 _Well, you get it._

 _And Av's grades aren't bad, but she does work very hard to bring them up and get good ones. It's not so surprising, it took her a long while to figure things out with her before she became our friend, it'd just take her some time to figure out what would keep her from being able to study. I mean, I know she has a lot to deal with in taking care of her little sister and…some other stuff. (I can't actually say, she may get mad if it gets out)._

 _And…well…Ms. Appleby will never read this, she just wants to see that we've written something. But we've had one of our biggest fights against Goldar and putties yesterday. I don't know what Rita and Zedd did, but everything we've ever thrown against Goldar didn't work. First, putties attacked at the train station. It took us a little while before we figured out that they targeted the rain station because they wanted to take those on the train hostage and make sure our way of living slowly fell to the wayside. The more people Rita and Zedd held captive, the better off for them to slowly gain control over the city._

 _So we raced off to fight the putties, and of course, fought them with no problems. They're not that hard to take down, honestly. It's only when there's a lot of them that there's a problem. We took them down then raced to stop Goldar, who shouted at us as he leapt up onto the roof of the train._

 _"Come and get me rangers," Goldar cried, waving his sword in the air, laughing maniacally._

 _"We'll have to split up," Tommy said as soon as the train started to pull away. "Take care of Goldar, stop the train, and make sure no one gets hurt."_

 _"Right," the rest of us replied. My heart fluttered, I couldn't help it. It always does whenever we're about to start a ranger fight. Being able to morph and being able to save as many people as possible always fulfills something in me. Something that gymnastics does as well. I'm not just a gymnast, I'm a ranger and I love it. Taking down putties and other monsters was just the icing on top of the cake._

 _"It's morphin' time!" Jason declared._

 _"White Tiger!" Tommy called._

 _"Stegosaurus!' Avalon called._

 _"Mastodon!" Zack called._

 _"Pterodactyl!" I called._

 _"Triceratops!" Billy called._

 _"Saber-tooth Tiger!" Trini called._

 _"Tyrannosaurus!" Jason called._

 _And so we morphed and immediately went to do as we were told. Jason, Tommy, and I went after Goldar while Billy and Trini went to stop the train and Zack and Avalon went to get the train riders off the train as quickly as they could. Tommy, Jason, and I teleported to the top of the train and the second I landed, I could feel my feet starting to slide out from beneath me._

 _Even in my morphed state, where I took on the abilities of the pterodactyl and was usually able to help me keep my balance and keep me as graceful as possible. But that train was moving fast. Even Jason and Tommy wind milled their arms to keep themselves up. Finally, I planted myself firmly and summoned my Power Bow while Jason summoned his Power Sword and Tommy summoned Saba._

 _"You're not going to win rangers," Goldar cried. "Give up, now!"_

 _"We'll just see about that!" Jason shouted back, his voice rising about the strong winds._

 _"Power Bow!" I cried, stringing an arrow. I leaned back and pulled my arm back as far as I could. My fingers ached, the muscles in my arm straining as I held onto the taught bowline and the arrow. Jason and Tommy raced forward and started to attack Goldar. That was just what I needed, time for Goldar to be distracted. Then he'd make a mistake, he always did._

 _It didn't take too long. He was too preoccupied with Jason and Tommy fighting against him to notice me. I couldn't help but smile. All of the monsters didn't take me seriously, Rita and Zedd tried to kidnap me more than anyone else, thinking I wouldn't be able to fight back, thinking I wasn't smart enough to work my way out of things._

 _Boy, was he in for a shock._

 _It was the best shot I've ever made. Perfect timing, perfect landing, and the way Goldar roared with frustration made it all better. He tried to swing his sword, slashing towards the ribbon that trailed along behind my arrow as it wrapped around him before wrapping around a support beam of the track beside him. Not long after Billy and Trini managed to slow the train down. So we all got to laugh and grin, waving at Goldar as he bobbed up and down over the train tracks before Rita and Zedd teleported him back up to the Lunar Palace._

 _Okay, I know I'm making it seem like this fight was nothing, but it went on a for a while. It was a hard fight, Goldar was as strong as ever. That's why I put so much time and emphasis on being a ranger. Not only was it as much a part of me as gymnastics is, but because I couldn't bear the thought of being the reason someone was hurt or even killed. Because I was weak, because I didn't move fast enough, because…_

 _Because._

 _There were too many ways things could go wrong._

 _I don't ever want to think about it._

 _But it was like I said before, being a ranger is a huge part of me. It's like breathing to me. Just like being a gymnast. I can't imagine my life without practicing gymnastics. It's my life. Just as cheerleading is, and all of clubs I'm part of, my volunteer work. It's all important to me. Yes, it gets to be stressful…and that's where I wish mom had someone._

 _Ever since she and daddy got divorced, she does the best she can. She works long hours to make sure I have everything I want, all because dad doesn't pay child support a lot. I keep saying I want to get a job, but mom won't let me. I have to focus on my school work. That's why she gets upset with me an Tommy sometimes. She doesn't want me to become tied down to him, so I don't miss out on life experiences. I understand that, I really do. But…why can't I have those experiences with Tommy._

 _Do I think I'll marry him? I'm honestly not so sure. But I love Tommy and I'd love to see what we can experience together before we graduate and go our separate ways. I can't imagine not having my friends in my life but I know it's a reality that can happen. So I want to be able to hang out with my friends and Tommy as much as possible._

 _And with cheerleading and my fights with mom on top of that, things can get really stressful. I know, what do I know about stress? People say I'm the most popular girl in school, and I get good grades, and I've got a lot of friends, what pressure would I know? I feel pressure every day trying to keep everything all together and sometimes it gets to be a little overwhelming._

 _That's when I go to the youth center and practice my gymnastics. It frees my mind and clears my head and makes me feel like nothing else matters. So when I got the chance to work with Coach Schmidt, I immediately jumped on it. And I still can't believe it's happening. My hands are shaking even as I write this just from thinking about it._

 _I've already gone through my first real practices and I'm starting to become friends with some of the girls on the team. But my first competition since working with him is coming up and that makes me anxious. But I'm ready. I've been working on my flips, tucks, and beam routines. It's more of my diet that was an issue. I just love to eat sweets so much; a lot of junk that weighs me down._

 _But I've been doing well._

 _As a matter of fact, today I've eaten a bowl of oatmeal with apple slices and for lunch I had a BLT I made at home. And so far, I already feel great._

 _Well, I have to go. There's still a lot of practice I have to get in before I go home and do my homework._

 _Kisses,_

 _-Kim._

* * *

Jason glanced over at Trini as she sat quietly in the seat next to him. The door to Lt. Stone's office stayed closed despite the low rumblings they could hear from inside. Khoa had been there before and while he was in the station he and Trini were not allowed to speak to each other. Even when they had to repeat the things that had gone on between them, they had to speak through Lt. Stone, who diligently took notes.

And all the while Mr. and Mrs. Nguyen, Khoa's parents, continued to beg and plead that charges weren't pressed. And Jason was there for all of it, being a silent pillar of support whenever Trini needed. Hopefully, that day would be the last day they needed to worry about it. It was going to be decided that day what was going to happen. No more questions and no more waiting for results.

Jason already felt himself started to relax as he and Trini waited outside Lt. Stone's office, there was a lot to look forward to. Football was starting up again and he enjoyed that as much as he enjoyed martial arts. And with competitions running well around his school schedule, it made it that much easier to be able to play football as well as be there for Trini.

He'd never thought it would take something as serious as what had been going on with Khoa for him to finally tell Trini how he felt. A small smile came to his face, something that Trini immediately noticed for she turned away from the magazine she was reading and asked, "What's the smile for?"

"Nothing," Jason said quickly. "Just, I'm glad this is almost over."

"Yeah, me too," Trini agreed. "No matter what happens, it's almost over." She took in a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair. "Then I can finally relax and get back to everything else that's important." She shook her head. "I haven't been able to beat you at martial arts in so long."

"Please, you haven't been able to beat me for years," Jason shot back. He blew on his knuckles and pretended to buff them on the front of his shirt. "All those times I've let you win."

"Oh please."

But Trini couldn't help but smile and gently nudge his arm with hers. Then she turned back to her magazine and turned the page, leaning forward as she let out a gasp so loud and sudden it made Jason jump. "What? What?" He looked around, ready to take down any putties or monsters that had suddenly appeared to make her shriek like that. "What's up?"

Wordlessly, Trini pointed at the magazine in front of her. She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly before, finally, pushing the magazine into Jason's face. He jerked his head back, and grasped the glossy pages. It took him a second before he realized what Trini was so surprised by. The spread in the magazine that held pictures of gymnasts in the middle of flips and tricks. Kimberly was featured prominently on one page along with Olivia Monroe and Coach Schmidt on the other.

Then there was an interview with Coach Schmidt on the other side, speaking of the girls on their team. The portion that had grabbed Trini's attention was of the coach speaking about Kimberly. "Kimberly Hart is a new addition to the team, yes, but I see major talent in her. There have been a lot of gymnasts I've seen over the years and none have been as graceful as Miss. Hart, holding a sort of power that I've never been able to teach."

"Well, all you need is a Power Coin," Trini murmured, receiving an elbow to the stomach and a quick 'shh' in her ear from the red ranger. "Relax, Jase, no one's around to listen to us." She gave him a teasing smile. "You really have to relax every once in a while. It's not like talking about it out loud is going to make us lose our powers."

"You never know who's listening," Jason pointed out.

"Rita and Zedd, but they're always listening to us," Trini reminded him. Jason gave her a stern look and Trini smiled back. "I'm kidding, Jase. And besides, Kim's always been one of the best gymnast I've ever seen. She doesn't need a Power Coin for it." She thought for a moment, tapping the side of her cheek then brightened. "Hey, we should have a party for Kim," Trini suggested. "Before her big competition. We'll invite everyone from the class. As a way to say congratulations. Then we'll go see her competition."

"That's a great idea," Jason agreed. "Kim would love it."

Trini smiled wryly. "Because it's a party for her?"

Jason blinked innocently. "Well, I meant more because it shows how much support she has but I won't tell her you said that." He laughed as Trini gently punched him in the chest. Then she stood up and tossed the magazine aside. "Tree?"

"Let's go," Trini said. She tilted her head towards the closed office door. "I don't need to wait for this. I'm done. My mom and dad will tell me and we'll move on from there." She grabbed Jason's arm and dragged him to his feet—with more ease than she anticipated with him willingly getting up.

Jason grinned and pressed a kiss to her temple then looped his arm around her shoulders and said, "C'mon, girl, I'll get you home before your carriage turns back into a pumpkin. But not until after getting some ice cream from Ernie's."

Trini smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder as they continued walking along.

* * *

 **A/N:** I really had fun writing the diary portion of this chapter. Getting into Kim's head and giving her more characterization along with what we've seen on the show is really fun. I hope you guys enjoyed it as much. As well as the Jason and Trini scene at the end. He'd be a great boyfriend to have and she'd be a great best friend to have, I think.

I hope you all enjoyed it, let me know what you think.

 **~Av**


	7. I Felt Lighter

**Four Months Ago**

* * *

"Oh my god! This is sooo cute!" Kimberly squealed as she pulled a mini-skirt off the clothes rack in front of her. She swung it around in a circle before holding it in front of her, moving in front of a mirror to hold it against her body. She turned this way and that before whirling back around to face Avalon with, "Don't you think this is cute?" She gazed at the orange ranger with an expectant smile, continuing to look over the skirt in her hand, momentarily forgetting the large pile of clothes already sitting next to her.

"Cute wasn't the word I was going to use," Avalon said honestly. She looked over the checkered pattern fabric. "You'd look like you're wearing a picnic blanket."

Kimberly's smile widened. "Oh! Like Dorothy."

Avalon's eyebrows hitched up even further. "Who's Dorothy?" She asked, glancing over her shoulder as a sales assistant walked by with a large stack of jeans. She turned back to Kimberly, noticing her eyeing it like a lion looking at a gazelle. "She a mate of yours?"

That seemed to snap Kimberly out of her thoughts. In fact, she did a double take before looking at Avalon with wide eyes. "Dorothy," she repeated. "You know, from the _Wizard of Oz._ " Avalon shrugged and Kimberly shook her head. "You haven't seen it?" With a flourish, Kimberly tossed the skirt aside. "Okay, we're going to watch that our next movie night. Twice! Just so you can understand how rad it is."

"I'll take a pass," Avalon said, holding up her hand. "Besides, it's Zack's turn to pic a movie anyway. I don't think you can convince him to watch the _Wizard of Oz."_

"We'll just see about that." Kimberly giggled to herself as she set the skirt back on the rack. Then she moved to the rack that sat next to it and started to look through some other skirts that were situated by size and color. She immediately flipped past the red, black, orange, and yellow ones and focused on the denim, white, and pink skirts. Tilting her head to the side, Kimberly started to reach towards the white one.

A smile came to her lips. Not just because the color immediately reminded her of Tommy, but because of how much it dawned on her that she truly was drawn to pink. It was already her favorite color before being the pink ranger. There was just something so bright and girly about the color, and it helped that her mother dressed her up like a doll since she was born. There were many pictures of her as a toddler sitting in front of a mirror, looking at her reflection. It was funny how she and her friends stuck with their colors so often and managed to shop at the same store for their clothes.

Kimberly glanced at the sales assistant, who smiled sweetly at her, as she walked by, continuing to straighten up the store. If she were honest, Kimberly was sure the people that worked there knew they were rangers. When Tommy had gone into the store to get some new white clothes after switching to the being the white ranger, she had nodded as if she expected it and hurried to pull out some new things for him faster than Kimberly could blink.

But it was funny how they all continued to stick with their own colors even if they didn't have to. _I wonder how I'd look in yellow,_ Kimberly thought with a tilt of her head. She shook her head seconds later. No, the idea already made her feel weird and she hadn't even tried it on yet.

"What do you need to get something new for, anyway?" Avalon continued, leaning over to try on a pair of sunglasses she picked up from beside a full-length mirror. "You and Trini just went clothes shopping last week."

"That was to celebrate for Trini," Kimberly defended herself. "That restraining order against Khoa is still going to be held up. And, there's been a no-contact order added on top, you know that."

"Too right," Avalon agreed. "But why are _you_ shopping? I know it's an extreme sport for you, but what's really extreme is trying to think of how much money you spend on nearly a daily basis."

"Oh, it's not that much." Kimberly waved her hand.

It wasn't like she had a lot of time to go shopping anyway. Her mornings were filled with gymnastics practice and school. Her afternoons were filled with cheerleading and the odd monster attack that came through, and her nights were filled with more gymnastics and homework. She hadn't been in a mall for a while and being back was great. It was like a wave of relief went over her and she could relax.

The mall was her home away from home and it would be rude if she didn't get anything before leaving. It was like showing up at someone's house without bringing anything with them. It was a steadfast rule her mother instilled upon her and she wasn't about to let it go.

"You didn't answer my question, Pinkerbell," Avalon pointed out. "You don't need anything new, why are you shopping?"

"Oh." Kimberly shrugged. "I'm meeting up with my dad later today and I wanted to look nice."

Suddenly, her excitement of shopping disappeared, and she nervously fingered the frayed edge of a pair of jeans. It wasn't that she was afraid to see her father. In fact, she was very excited. But there was always that sense of doubt in her.

She knew he was slow on paying his child support to her mother. And she knew her mother hid it as well as she could. But Kimberly had heard a few of the whispered phone calls when she left her room to get something to eat, when she went down to the living room for more space to do some push-ups and crunches. Her mother would be curled around her phone, nearly hunched over herself as she whispered harshly over how selfish he was being and that they both needed to think of their daughter and not themselves.

Then Kimberly would hear her father say something aback about their public image being all her mother cared about and the fighting would start. It was the same every time. Kimberly could almost mouth the entire conversation word for word by that point. It'd been enough times that she'd heard the conversation that she could tell what was coming the moment her mother's shoulders tensed. So far, she managed to hide it form her friends if they were around when it started; ushering them out of the room or distracting them with something else.

But he was still her father. He was the person she was excited to see every time they had their daddy-daughter days. She could push aside his shortcomings so that they could have a good time together. This time it had been over five months since she'd last seen him. Long enough so that there were many changes she could tell him about her life; the gymnastics team, cheerleading, her friends and boyfriend and she couldn't wait to share everything with him.

She was an only child and was only going to be her parents' children and wanted nothing more than to make them proud. Even if that meant being okay with him not being around for a long while

"You don't look very excited to see him, mate," Avalon pointed out gently, her voice growing soft. Her dark brown eyes roved over Kimberly's hazel ones, almost as if trying to force her to deny it. Kimberly turned her gaze away from her friend and looked at her reflection in the mirror.

She could already see the muscle definition coming to her arms, added on from her early morning gymnastics practices. And, well, her legs were starting to buckle, and she was second away from crying out in pain from how her arm and leg muscles were constantly being worked. _Over_ worked. She could barely go up and down the stairs in her home without wanting to cry in pain.

"Well, you're never excited to see your dad," Kimberly pointed out, lifting her gaze to look the -

"If by 'excited' you mean 'I'd rather punch him in the face' then yeah, I'm excited." Avalon laughed at her joke while Kimberly smiled sympathetically. To say Avalon and her father didn't get along was the understatement of the year. "I reckon you love seeing your dad, though."

"I do," Kimberly insisted with a warm smile. "It's just been a while since the last time we were together. I just want everything to be perfect." Twisting her fingers together, Kimberly turned back to the mirror and piled her hair up on top of her head. "So, what do you think? Up or down?"

She received silence in reply. Letting out a quiet huff, Kimberly said, "Av, I could really use your help here."

Kimberly lowered her hands from her head and turned to the orange ranger, who was busy texting on her cell phone. Kimberly lifted her eyebrows, stepping away from the mirror as she studied her friend. She knew exactly who she was texting and what it was about. How many times had she seen on the news that week alone that gang activity throughout Angel Grove was increasing? And how many times had her mind immediately flashed to Avalon and whether she was along with those being sought after, forcing her to sleep with her phone next to her in case she got a late-night phone call.

Sometimes Kimberly forgot how dangerous the real world was let along the world with monster attacks thrown in.

"Hell-oo!" Kimberly waved her hand between Avalon's face and phone.

Avalon jerked her head back and looked at Kimberly with an expression of annoyance. "What?"

"What's so important that you're not paying attention?" Kimberly asked. She tried to sound teasing, keeping the conversation light even though the tension around them started to rise. "I'm having a crisis here. Do I wear my hair up or down for seeing my dad?"

"He's seen you since you were born, Kim, what would it matter how your hair looks?" Avalon shot back, eyeing her suspiciously as she slid her phone into her pocket.

Kimberly blinked at her as if she were crazy. Then she let out a theatric sob, moving her hand to her chest. "It's like you don't even _know_ me."

Avalon finally smiled before she started to laugh. She reached out and gently shoved Kimberly on the shoulder. "Boofhead," She remarked. Then her eyes shifted to the side as she thought. "I think the denim skirt is better," She finally said. Avalon laughed quietly. "Anything is better than the Dorothy thing."

Kimberly looked over and giggled along with her. "I agree." She bent down and picked up the large pile of clothes that sat next to her and hefted it into her arms. "I guess I better get these to the counter."

"Finally!" Avalon tilted her head back and threw the word to the ceiling. "I'm bloody _starving."_

"Yeah, shopping can do that to you," Kimberly said, moving to the front counter to drop all of the clothes. "Sometimes I go hours and hours without realizing that I haven't eaten anything and then I scarf down everything in sight."

"Can you do that with your new training regime?" Avalon asked, leaning against the counter next to her, her dark hair falling from her eyes.

Kimberly felt a twinge of guilt move through her. She had been having a bit of difficulty with her new diet lately. She'd been eating well, but by the time she as to have dinner she'd be eating everything that was sitting in front of her. Her stomach would growl so loud that she could hardly focus on her homework, nearly slumping over her desk in exhaustion as she tried to will herself not to eat any more than she needed to.

But there were such things as cheat days, right?

And she worked hard to deserve those cheat days, adding in the ranger fights and her cheerleading practices.

"Yeah, I work so much it's like I can eat whatever I want," Kimberly said. She took her purchases with a smile and looked over at Avalon, who was holding onto her own shopping bags. "Is anything the matter? Normally you buy as much as me?"

"I just don't have much money at the moment, yeah?" Avalon hedged.

Kimberly smiled sympathetically and looped her arm around Avalon's shoulders, nearly knocking the two over with the weight of the bags in her hands. "Then I'll treat you to some ice cream. I'm getting pretty hungry myself." Not to mention she was sure her legs were seriously seconds away from taking her down and if she was going down, then Avalon was coming down with her.

* * *

 _He didn't show._

 _My dad didn't show._

 _I waited for him all nigh to come to the house, to fake pleasantries with my mom, and to take me out to dinner. Just like we always do. He promised he'd be there. He really, did promise. He's never let me down before. And…I really don't know how to feel._

 _After the first hour passed that he didn't show, I felt my stomach start to clench the same way it always did when I was about to start crying. A lump formed in my throat and I did my best to keep it away. I didn't want to give up hope yet. My mom was hovering nearby, I could tell she really wanted to say something. About the situation, about my dad, I don't know for sure. But she wanted to say something, anything._

 _I didn't let her. Every time she came close I'd put on my biggest smile and give her a calm reassurance, "I'm sure he's just running late."_

 _And he still didn't come. I left him message after message and his phone would ring each time. That was worse than anything else. Knowing his phone was ringing. Because, well, it meant he knew it was me who was calling. Not my mom, not someone who was trying to get his attention. Me. His daughter. His little girl. He had to look at his phone and see my name come up over and over. And he ignored it. My mom tried to comfort me when I finally gave up, moving away from the porch swing on the front of our house, hugging my arms close to myself._

 _I didn't let her. I didn't want her to see how upset I was. So I just went to my room, letting her know I was okay and I was going to finish my homework. As soon as I closed the door, I couldn't help but let the tears falls. They burned hot over my cheeks, itched when they dried, made me want to rip my skin off and start new, raw fresh. I wanted to be anyone but me. I wanted to be someone who had a life that was better than mine. A family that was together, a mother and father that loved each other, a life that wasn't filled with so much stress._

 _I don't think people how much stress I hold back. I try to be there for everyone else all the time, I don't like people thinking I'm vulnerable or weak. I used to be that way. I know I was. Before I became a ranger and in the first few months I did my best. I know it wasn't the best. I was weak, I had to be helped. So, I made a promise to myself to be the best ranger I can be and I'm proud of that._

 _But I'm still human and things do still hurt. I cried until I was out of tears, until my head hurt, until my voice went hoarse, until I was second away from falling into a deep slumber. Sleep wouldn't come to me. Every moment I'd hear my mom's voice snapping into the phone, leaving angry voicemail after voicemail on my father's phone, I'd start to tear up again. I wanted nothing more than to call Tommy and have him comfort me, I know he'd try his hardest, but he wouldn't understand._

 _His parents loved him dearly and were more loving and supportive than anyone I've ever met. His mom and dad went to every one of his martial arts tournaments and football games. I'd be lucky if my dad ever remembered where the school was. But Billy would get it, I know he would. I pushed aside my aching head and punched in Billy's number._

 _He answered on the last ring. That didn't surprise me. He was almost always in his lab, making some sort of new gadget for us or expanding on the ones we already had. I always wish I was as smart as him, as talented. Gymnastics and beauty, sure. I'd just love for people to think I was smart. And Billy always knew the right thing to say, even if he did it in a more analytical way with so many big words it made my head spin._

 _"Hey Kim," Billy answered. His voice sounded muffled, almost far away. I could hear a tinkering sound in the background. I'm pretty sure I was on speakerphone._

 _"How'd you know it was me?" I asked with a small smile._

 _"You're the only one who calls at this time of night," Billy said matter-of-fact, making my smile widen even more. I knew he was teasing me as much as he was telling the truth. "Is there some homework you need help with?"_

 _My smile faded. "No, uh, I was hoping maybe you had some time to talk." There was another shuffling sound and I could hear Billy giving an explanation to someone in the background before things sounded clearer and his voice was nearer. "Sorry, am I keeping you from something?"_

 _"I was just working on the power exponents of our suits, seeing if I could change the capacities and Ava said she'd help me out while I talked to you."_

 _I sat up straight, slapping my hand to my mattress. "Well, if I'm bothering you two, I can call later."_

 _"You're not bothering us." I rolled my eyes at the slightly confused tone to Billy's voice. He's so smart but he can be so dumb sometimes. No, not dumb, just oblivious. It can be so frustrating sometimes. "Did you call to ask for some homework help? I'd be glad to give you some pointers."_

 _That's Billy. Always willing to give a helping hand. I love that about him. He a's always so earnest and real about everything. I don't think I've ever seen him be so insincere._

 _"Billy," I said quietly, feeling my sadness coming back. "I know it's not the same thing but…I figured maybe you'd understand since your mom…" I trailed off, suddenly feeling very rude and selfish. How could I talk to him about this?_

 _His mother's death was still hard for him to talk about. To the point that when parents' day was brought up for school he would wave off any of the apologies and give a small smile, saying he was glad to celebrate the day with his father as he would with any other parents. But I know the hurt was still there from the way he'd stare off into space seconds before burying himself in his work._

 _Mrs. Cranston always was Billy's biggest supporter in science. He told the story every now and then; she was mad about him tearing apart her vacuum and putting it back together, but continued to encourage him to figure things out himself. His father helped to hone his skills but was soon left behind as Billy continued to grow even more inquisitive. And despite his mother maybe not understanding what was going on, she continued to encourage him with his many setbacks and failures and successes._

 _"Did something happen, Kim?"_

 _"He didn't show up," I finally said. "I was supposed to go with my dad today, but he didn't show up." I took a deep breath. "I didn't expect him to, but…"_

 _"It still hurt," Billy interrupted. "Because you get your hopes up, thinking they'll be around. Then you remember that it's not going to happen. And the pain you feel is overwhelming." He sounded almost robotic when he said it, but I knew it was something he felt a lot._

 _How many times had he thought his mother would be coming to some awards ceremony or science competition but remember too late she wasn't going to show?_

 _"Yeah," I said even quieter._

 _"That's normal, Kim. And, unfortunately, it gets worse before it gets easier. As long as you remember the people you already have in your life who are there to support you."_

 _"I guess you're right."_

 _"You're allowed to feel upset."_

 _That was all I needed. The validation I needed to hear. That it was okay to be sad. That I didn't have to be angry or pretend to be happy about everything. I could struggle. I felt the thick lump appear in my throat once more and I knew this one wasn't going to go away. I quickly said goodbye before Billy could hear me start crying and hurried to my bathroom, wiping at my eyes as I went._

 _I looked at myself in the mirror and didn't recognize what I saw. My eyes were red rimmed, mascara running down my cheeks, and my head and heart felt full. Much fuller than it'd ever felt before. Not the kind of full that I felt when I was with my friends or saw how grateful Angel Grove was for us rangers. A sickening full._

 _I couldn't help it, I turned and threw up in the toilet. The first time in years. Ick. So gross. But I felt so much better afterwards._

 _As if I was holding onto too much stuff that finally came out._

 _I felt lighter._

 _Maybe that means my practice will go well._

 _Kisses,_

 _Kim._

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, as you can see, I'm really enjoying writing Kim and Billy's friendship. And now here's some of Kim's and Av's. They're a bit more alike then you'd think considering their means of making sure no one worries about them. And you can see Kim slowly growing further into her demons. Yes, there's going to be a lot of Tommy and Kim romance in this story, but I feel that people tend to forget that Kim (and Tommy) exist outside of each other and have friends and interests of their own so I want to make that a point.

I'm finally back with more time and responding more to reviews and getting to read more. I'm glad you all are taking the time to do the same for my stories. I'm really excited for you guys to see what I have planned for the other rangers in their stories.

I hope you all enjoyed it, let me know what you think.

 **~Av**


	8. Three Months Ago

**Three Months Ago**

* * *

Kimberly laughed in delight as Zack whisked her across the crowded dance floor that used to be her living room. With all the furniture pushed out of the way and all the valuables hidden—something her mother made sure she did whenever more than two of her friends would be in the house (she still hadn't gone over the 'incident' when Zack overzealously showed off one of his new moves)—the spacious living room transformed into party central crammed full of her friends and classmates.

Zack grabbed onto her hand and stared to rapid spin her around. On one pass she saw her mother place a bowl of chips and dip on the continuously full food table. On another she saw Bailey and her friend Fred Kelman break away from the group to walk over to the stairs to catch their breath, cups of punch in hand. On another she saw Jason dancing—a little clumsily—along with Trini, who wasn't so much better a but a little more graceful. The next she saw Tommy and Billy enthusiastically speaking with a each other over their own cups of punch.

And as Zack continued to twirl her around, she didn't get dizzy. No, she was on a high of celebration. It had taken her some time to be convinced to have the party at her house, but it was so sweet how her friends wanted to throw a party for her before her first big competition with Coach Schmidt. The last few weeks of training was going to pay off and everyone she loved was going to watch her. And cheer her on and…oh she couldn't wait.

Zack stopped spinning Kimberly and dipped her over his arm, earning a surprised squeal form her. Not even Tommy dipped her when they danced together. Then again, there was that little incident that gave her a slight concussion for a few weeks…but at least he'd given her the most beautiful bouquet of flowers she'd ever seen to say he was sorry. Tommy could be about the best ranger Earth has ever seen—in her opinion anyway—but she loved the part of him that not many other people got to see and her friends teased her over. The side of him that was sweet and gentle and was a hopeless romantic.

But man, could Zack dance.

"If you can do that, how come you can't keep Angela interested in you?" Kimberly teased, looping her arms around Zack's shoulders when the music changed to a slow one.

"I constantly ask myself that question," Zack said with a wistful sigh, wrapping his arms around her waist in turn. "But the way I see it, the chase is as much fun as actually having her so I'm not getting too disappointed yet."

Kimberly smiled and playfully swatted at his shoulder. Zack wasn't someone who she could ever see herself into romantically, they were too close, knew each other too long. But knew he'd be a great boyfriend whenever he got so lucky. He was always happy and excited and lived off life like it was a drug. Other than rangering, he didn't take so much as seriously as others until the time warranted it. She equally loved and envied him for it. She wished she could be so happy and excited about everything.

Though fashion and boys and gymnastics and shopping was good enough for her.

Feeling a tap on her shoulder, Kimberly turned around and beamed at Tommy. "Hey, do you mind if I cut in?" He asked Zack.

"Cut away," Zack replied, instantly relinquishing Kimberly with a bright smile. "I'm going to need some more fuel if these tunes are going to keep rocking. And,"—he tilted his head towards the food table—"I spy with my little eye, something gorgeous."

Kimberly and Tommy looked over to find Angela paused by the food table, talking to her friends though casting side glances towards Zack, as if making sure he was watching. And Zack was indeed watching. Kimberly smiled, looping her arms around Tommy's neck, standing closer to him than she had with Zack. With a big smile, she rested her cheek on Tommy's chest, closing her eye as they gently swayed to the music.

Tommy held her just as closely, bringing his forehead down to rest atop her head. And they continued to dance like that, swaying back and forth in the middle of the room. As far as Kimberly was concerned, there was no one else there. She pushed out the sounds of the other party guests talking quietly, crinkling plastic cups, worrying about something falling over and breaking, even the music was gone. It was just her and Tommy as they swayed back and forth, holding onto each other as tightly as they could.

Unfortunately, then, the thought of graduating filled her head. It wasn't too far away, and Kimberly wasn't sure she could handle it. The thought of moving into a dorm was exciting, knowing it was a place where they could become anything they wanted was amazing. All before she started working with Coach Schmidt. If she still worked with him, college was gone. She wouldn't room with Trini, wouldn't go to class with her friends, wouldn't see Tommy. And who knew if their relationship would last with the distance between them.

It was a rude thought, intrusive. Something Kimberly tried her hardest to stamp out as she squeezed Tommy in her arms. Opening her eyes, Kimberly leaned her head back, hoping Tommy could know what she was thinking at a glance. Know how much she felt for him, how much she loved him. Tommy opened his eyes and smiled back at her, making Kimberly feel nothing short of relief when she saw love radiating back in his eyes.

They could make it through, no matter what came their way. She knew they could.

She could feel it in her heart.

* * *

"Whew!" Kimberly quickly moved off the dance floor, dragging Tommy behind her by the hand. "I'm _so_ tired! I didn't think they'd be playing so many fast songs."

"It's a party, Kim, they're not going to play the funeral march," Tommy teased, looping his arm around her shoulders. Kimberly beamed and leaned into his side. "But, it does make me wonder, what kind of parties have you been to?"

Kimberly wound up and punched him on the arm. "Shut up!" The two laughed and Kimberly continued towards the stairs. "Hey!" She greeted Bailey and Fred, plopping between them as they made space for her on the stairs. "You guys getting tired of dancing already?"

"If you call that dancing." Fred motioned to the group of teens on the dance floor that were now slamming into each other accompanied by loud, angry rock music.

"Hey, slam dancing is a real thing," Tommy said. "It's weird, but it's real."

"Weird is right," Bailey agreed. Then she turned to Kimberly with a bright smile and said, "You must be excited for the competition tomorrow, yeah?"

"So excited! You guys have no idea!" Kimberly ran her palms over the knees of her jeans before nervously tucking her hair behind her ears. "But I'm so nervous, too. I want to do a good job. Not just for the tea, but for Coach Schmidt and…and oh, everyone's going to be watching, I don't want to let anyone down."

Fred smiled and lifted his chin towards Bailey. "You must've been spending a lot of time with Kim, Bay. She's starting to sound just like you when you worry."

Bailey reached around Kimberly and smacked him on the arm.

Kimberly lifted his gaze and exchanged a knowing glance with Tommy, who leaned on the banister beside them. Then she wrinkled her nose and said, "I guess I'm just being silly."

"It's not silly to be nervous, Kim, this is a big thing," Tommy gently reassured her. "And you're going to do great."

"Yeah, we can't wait to watch," Bailey added. She pointed towards her feet for emphasis as she added, "Fred and I will be right there in the front row." Then she lowered her voice and looked around. "You know, if some bloody monster stuff doesn't come about."

Kimberly's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't thought of that. What if there was a monster fight in the middle of the competition? Would she be able to get away and help? Would she be stuck waiting for her friends to get back, watching as they're hurt? Would any of her teammates be hurt, would they find out she was a ranger?

Tommy noticed the fear coming to her face and reached out, placing his hand atop her head. "Hey, everything's going to be fine, Kim. We already said if something were to happen that we could handle it until you had the time to finish whatever it is you need to do."

"Yeah, we can handle it," Bailey said. "That just means Fred will take my place in the Command Center and I'll be out on the field with you guys."

"Did you run that by Av yet?" Tommy asked her.

Bailey's face morphed into a sheepish expression and Kimberly laughed a little, knowing the answer was 'no'. It wasn't that Avalon was controlling by any means, just that she was protective of her baby sister. Even though Bailey has ranger powers of her own, Avalon still insisted that she stay in the Command Center unless they were having a lot of problems with whatever monster was attacking that day. But Bailey was a valuable member of the team, working along with Billy as their tech support. Wherever she was when they were fighting, Bailey was very helpful.

"Hey, don't worry about it, Bay, I'll talk to her," Tommy reassured her, making Bailey grin. Kimberly smiled. It was always so cute to see the two of them interacting. Bailey had always seen Tommy as a sort of big brother since they met and the feeling certainly was mutual, with Tommy thinking of her as a little sister.

"Yeah, and probably earn a punch in the face for trying," Fred joked. He jumped and paled when he heard Avalon's voice suddenly saying, "I heard that." Fred laughed nervously, removing his ever-present baseball cap from his head to run a hand through his hair. "I was just kidding."

"No worries, mate, I knew what you meant," Avalon said. She rested her arms against the banister to Kim's left and mimicked Tommy's stance, leaning against it.

"Hey, Av, I've been looking everywhere for you," Kimberly said. "Where've you been?"

"I was just taking a phone call," Avalon replied.

Kimberly instantly recognized the way Avalon hedged at answering the question and had a feeling she knew what it was. One look at Tommy, Fred, and Bailey and Kimberly knew she was right. Bailey frowned deeply, crossing her arms and Avalon rolled her eyes.

"Relax, it was just a phone call. Chase wanted to see how I was doing," she defended herself.

"You said he never asked you how you are," Bailey pointed out. "That he doesn't care."

"Maybe he had a change of heart."

"Or needs you to do something."

"Bay, don't start."

Kimberly quickly jumped in before a fight could break out or the mood of the entire party was ruined. As nervous as she was, being able to pretend that the next day wasn't going to impact the rest of her life was enough to keep her going. As if her prayers were answered, she looked up to find Trini, Jason, Zack, and Billy walking over—well, shuffling. Each of them held a corner of the large cake her mother had ordered, complete with flaming candles flickering at the top.

"Come on, Kim, you have to blow out your candles," Jason said to her.

"Yeah, make a wish!" Zack added.

Trini giggled. "Zack, it's not her birthday."

"But it's the thought that counts," Billy said. He nodded towards Kimberly and with a warm smile said, "Come on, Kim. Blow out the candles and have a piece of cake. Even one slice can't be too bad for the dietary restrictions you've put on yourself."

"Okay, okay." Kimberly stood up and leaned over the cake. She smiled at the cursive writing of _Go For the Gold, Kim_ written in the frosting. Her mom could be so corny, but so sweet all the same. _I love you, mom,_ Kimberly thought before taking in a deep breath and blowing out the candles in one shot. Zack immediately whisked away the cake to start cutting into slices. He cut out a big piece and set it aside for Kimberly before taking an equally big one for himself.

"Maybe I should do it before you decide to destroy it," Jason said, gently pushing Zack out of the way. "Like you did with my birthday cake in fifth grade."

"Your parents forgot the knives and it was taking too long," Zack defended himself. "How was I supposed to know that cakes are too soft for you to actually cut a cake with a karate chop?"

"Anyone with common sense would know that."

"Well, there you go, I don't have common sense!"

"You said it, not me."

Kimberly laughed along with her friends and took the slice of cake that was offered to her. She held the plate in her lap, moving higher up on the stairs so that all her friends could squeeze in. Tommy sat next to her and smiled before taking a large bite of cake. Kimberly smiled back but looked down at the cake on her plate.

So fatty. So sugary. So delicious.

But filled with too many calories, empty calories. It'd ruin her diet if she were to eat it. Not to mention she'd have to get up super early to work it off. Just like she had all the other times. Her diet was fine, she was starting to drop the weight she needed, but later in the day she'd be so hungry to eat more, which made her work hard for all the extra food.

Her stomach rumbled with nerves.

She was too queasy to eat.

Instead, she turned to her friends with a bright smile and found herself unable to find the words that could even come close to letting them know how thankful she was for the. They were thrown together due to their ranger powers, all from different pasts and coming from different areas and yet they still managed to surprise her each and every day with how much they valued her. And she felt the same way.

"Guys," She started. "This is so nice of you."

"We couldn't let you go without having some sort of a party, right?"

"No, you could not," Kimberly agreed.

"Do you think this will make up for all of the ones you'll miss?" Bailey asked innocently.

Kimberly tilted her head. "What are you talking about? I'm not going to miss anything." She lifted her hand up, palm outward and pledged, "I promise I'm not going to ditch you guys. I'm not going to miss anything. I'll make this work."

"Hear hear!" Fred agreed, sticking his fork in the air before they all clinked it together.

"Well, isn't this the picture-perfect moment," Ms. Hart said, walking up to the group on the stairs. She held a camera in her hands and with one sweep of her hand, the rangers and Fred all leaned together to smile brightly for the camera. The flash went off and Ms. Hart took another picture before saying, "Don't fill up on cake, I just brought out some more food."

Bailey immediately perked up. "More shrimp?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Yes, let's go!" Fred clambered to his feet and the two immediately squeezed over the rangers to hurry down the stairs.

Avalon grabbed onto Bailey's arm before she could get too far. "Grab some for me, yeah?"

Bailey beamed back. "Are you kidding? Why do you think I brought my purse tonight?" She and Avalon high-fived before Bailey disappeared into the crowd with Fred.

"Wow, she's quite a handful, isn't she?" Kimberly asked.

"Yeah, always has been," Avalon agreed with a fond smile. "Even before she could talk. But I love that Goober anyway. Thankfully you lot are around she doesn't do my head in as much." She reached out and patted Tommy's shoulder. "Especially because I have him to take her off my hands."

"Glad to do it," Tommy replied.

"I've always wanted a brother or sister," Kimberly said wistfully, placing her chin in her hands. "Someone to play with, to hang out with, to help me deal with mom, help me with my homework…"

"I thought that's what we were for," Billy said with a light laugh.

"And I love you for it." Kimberly wrapped her arm around his shoulders and gave him a noisy kiss on the cheek, making Billy blush. Kimberly laughed and gently pushed him away, leaning back into Tommy's side, discreetly sending him a wink so that he knew he was still her number one. "I'm serious, though. I love you guys."

"Kim, why are you being so—" Trini started but was interjected by Avalon's, "sappy?" Trini flicked her on the ear. "No. I was going to say, why are you being so wistful. You sound like you miss us already."

Jason looked at her closely. Kimberly tried to hide her face. Jason was like her big brother, he always knew what she was thinking without ever having to say it he knew her so well. It came in handy when she, before dating Tommy, needed help getting some guys to leave her alone and he swooped in like a knight in shining armor. He always going to see through her.

"I see your dad didn't show up," he said gently.

"Yeah…" Kimberly took in a deep breath and played with her fingers. "He said he was going to show but…" She shrugged. "I guess he had too much stuff to do. That's alright, he's coming to the competition tomorrow, so I'll see him then!" She braved a smile then reached out, grasping Jason's shoulder, noticing his look. "I promise I'm okay."

"Can we talk about something a little less depressing?" Zack asked suddenly, licking frosting off the back of his fork. "Like math homework?" At the same time, the rangers picked up their napkins and threw them at Zack, leaving him covered in the pieces of confetti all the while laughing.

They all continued to talk and laugh with each other for the next twenty minutes. Kimberly laughed along with them, pushing her fork around her cake, staring at it hungrily. "Hey, aren't you going to eat it? It's the corner piece, your favorite."

"I've already filled up on shrimp, chips, and salsa, I'll eat it soon." Kimberly glanced down at her friends and, noticing they were deep in a heated conversation about something, she nodded towards the stairs. Tommy's eyebrows rose in question and in response, Kimberly got to her feet and quietly went to her room.

Tommy was a few seconds behind her, still eating his cake when she closed the door behind them. She knew her mother would disapprove but she didn't care. "Tommy?" She asked quietly, standing in front of her mirror. She ran her hands over her stomach, sticking out from the tie-front blouse she was wearing. "Do you think I'm fat?"

"Yeah, you're huge," Tommy replied sarcastically, licking icing off his fingers. Then he noticed Kimberly's silence and asked, "Wait, you're joking right?"

"Mm-mm." Kimberly shook her head, still studying her expression. She used to like the way she looked and now…something was off. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. "I'm serious." Then she caught Tommy's incredulous glance in the mirror and flashed a reassuring smile. "I just don't want to look bad in my leotard in front of everyone tomorrow."

"Kim, you're perfect." Tommy walked up behind her and—after Kimberly checked his hands for any leftover frosting—wrapped his arms around her waist. He rested his chin on her shoulder. "Perfect for me. Who cares what anyone else thinks?" He gave her a kiss on the cheek then on the ear, making her squeal and try to pull away, but he held her tighter. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Kimberly turned and wrapped her arms around Tommy's neck, pulling his head down so her forehead pressed against his. "So this is the plan, we're going to talk every night."

"We already do."

"We're going to see each other all the time."

"We already do."

"I just want you to know that I'm serious about making all of this work. I'm serious about us. I'm serious about you."

Tommy laughed. "Okay, okay, I think I get it." He ran his hand through his hair, the way Kimberly always loved. "Can I kiss you now?"

"You better."

With that, they shared a kiss that lasted a long time. Long enough that the world faded away from them once more. Long enough that all their worries faded. They focused only on their loving embrace. It was enough to protect them from everything that came their way and would continue to hold strong.

Kimberly gently pushed on Tommy's shoulders, so he backed up and laid down on her bed. Kimberly giggled softly, her hair falling into her face as she crawled over him, straddling his waist as she kissed him again.

Screw her mother's rules, it was one of the last times she'd be free to shower Tommy with her attention and she was going to make the most of it.

* * *

"Whoo! Go Kim!"

Embarrassed, Kimberly ducked her head as she hurried across the mats towards the locker room. With the hand not holding onto the strap of her sports bag, she waved towards Zack, who had shouted at her, and went inside.

Her nerves were already working on overtime. The stands were filled to the brim with those who were waiting to see Angel Grove's team perform, and those that were supporting the other teams in the area. Kimberly recognized the Stone Canyon and Los Angeles teams. They were always at the same meets. But there were some other teams she hadn't seen before. One from Las Vegas?

 _Wow, this really is the big time, _Kimberly thought, jaw gently dropping. She stepped towards the empty locker to put her bag down when she heard a strange sound. Almost like someone was throwing up. A heaving sound, a second of silence, and then the sound of something hitting the toilet water before a spit. It happened a few times before Kimberly was able to know for sure that someone was sick.

"Hello?" She asked, inching towards the toilets. "Are you okay in there?"

Kimberly stepped back when she heard the toilet flush seconds before the door opened. Olivia stepped out, running the back of her hand across her mouth. Her eyes met Kimberly's, wide and glassy. Even as she blinked a tear rolled down her cheek. Hastily, she wiped it away.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Olivia walked to the sinks and blasted the water full-force. Almost as if trying to drown out Kimberly, erase her completely.

"Are you sure? Because I can go tell Coach Schmidt—"

"No!" Olivia barked. "No, I'm fine. Just a small case of the nerves."

" _You_ get nervous?" Kimberly folded her arms. "I thought…I don't know, that you had nerves of steel or something."

Olivia tilted her head back as she laughed. "Definitely not. I get nervous just like everyone else. It's just…usually, it doesn't get to me so badly. This is the big-time, y'know?" Kimberly smiled and nodded. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, I think so."

Olivia reached out and grasped her hand. "You're going to do fine. We're going to crush this." Let's go. Together, the two left the locker room and went to join their teammates, all dressed in matching tracksuits. They linked up with their teammates and waited for the competition to start, grinning at each other when the judges announced over the intercom whose turn it was to compete.

And Kimberly waited for her events to be called, stretching carefully and clapping appreciatively when others had finished. Then her first event, the parallel bars, was called. Kimberly watched in rapt attention as her teammates went, unable to stifle gasps of surprise and awe when Olivia pulled off a nearly flawless routine to get 9s across the board.

 _She's really good, _Kimberly thought, swallowing hard.

 _"Next on the beam, Kimberly Hart, representing Angel Grove!"_

Kimberly nodded when she heard her name called and glanced at the stands once more. She could see her friends gathered in the front row along with her mother, cheering loudly along with Ernie, Ms. Appleby, Mr. Kaplan, and other teachers and students from her school. Kimberly grinned, glad to know she had a lot of support but…

Craning her neck back and forth, Kimberly looked for her father as she went through the motions to get read to start. Last minute stretches, stripping off her sweats, getting her hands chalked up and moving into place. A hush fell over the crowd as Kimberly slapped her hands to her sides, steading herself to race down the mats that'd lead her to the bounce pad to reach the bars.

Beside her, Coach Schmidt quietly murmured, "You've trained for this, Kim. You can do it. I know you can."

Kimberly nodded quietly.

She looked at the crowd again.

Still didn't see her father.

Saw her friends. Her mother.

She glanced down at her wrist, where her communicator sat.

 _Please, please, just once don't go off,_ Kimberly thought. Then she looked up once more took a breath ands tarted to run.

* * *

 **A/N:** Aww, a nice, happy friendship moment for them all. I hope you guys liked it. Things will start to move a little faster starting with the next chapter. Thanks for reading!

Also! _Powerless II_ is now up, and thank to suggestions from twitter, it's about drunk driving. I hope you guys enjoy the first chapter.

 **~Av**


	9. She Falls Asleep

**Three Months Ago**

* * *

 _Wham!_

Kimberly landed on the mat so hard the wind was knocked out of her. Prone on the ground, arms and legs stretched in front and behind her, she struggled to breathe sure that at any moment she'd feel the tip of a sword slice her skin or a monster's claws raking at her.

It hurt that much.

But, no, she wasn't fighting off monsters, she was at gymnastics practice. And particularly sucking at gymnastics practice? What happened? She'd won the last competition she entered, easily receiving gold in all her events, only points in front of Olivia. Coach Schmidt had been very excited, excited enough to grab onto Kim and spin her around in front of everyone while shouting praise. His praise barely audible above the screaming crowd that was there to support her. Above the screaming of her mother and friends as they jumped, clapped, and cheered for her. Even above the cheers and laughter that was of the victory party Tommy arranged at the Youth Center afterwards.

When she slyly asked him how he knew she'd win, he just shrugged and said in an almost cocky tone, "I just knew." That earned him a lot of points with her—of which she exchanged with a couple hours of making out when they were alone. All in all, it was a great day. No monsters, no fights, just winning.

And now it was all, literally, crashing down around her.

Finally catching her breath, Kimberly pushed himself onto her knees and smacked the mats below her with the palms of her hands. Once, twice. Then she turned onto her butt and started to rip her gloved off her hands. _How'd you mess that up?_ She demanded, glancing up at the uneven bars above her. A simple move that looked like a dismount. All she had to do was turn around in mid-air, turning her body completely to face the opposite direction and grab the bars again.

But no, she slammed straight into the ground.

Kimberly's cheeks flamed as she took a surreptitious glance around the gym. Had anyone else seen her blunder? Was anyone laughing at her? No. _Thank God for small miracles,_ Kimberly thought. With her gloves free, she got to her feet and walked to her bag, suddenly noticing the throbbing deep in her muscles. She must've hurt more than she thought, falling on the ground so much.

Almost in desperation, Kimberly dumped the pain pills into her palm before tossing them into her mouth. She drained the water bottle sitting next to it, sliding the pills home. She turned to straddle the bench, taking a break. Hearing the thudthudthud of her teammates footsteps was the last thing she wanted. It only meant they were doing better, flying higher, and landing everything they threw.

She needed some support.

Pulling out her cell phone, Kimberly punched in number 3 on the speedial and waited for the phone to stop ringing. Finally, just when she was about to hang up, Kimberly heard a shuffling sound and a sleepy, "Hello?"

A giggle escaped her lips. "I'm sorry, Tommy, did I wake you up?" She asked.

"No," Tommy grunted. Liar. "I was just watching a movie…with my eyes closed."

"That's called dreaming, silly."

"It'd explain why I was watching Billy do ballet."

"Billy could do ballet if he wanted to." Kimberly giggled even harder at the image. "I mean, he's not _that_ coordinated, but he could be good. Once he throws in all of the physics and other sciencey stuff in there." She let out a low breath. "I'm sorry for waking you, I'll let you go back to sleep."

"Is everything okay, Beautiful?" Tommy asked, lowering his voice. He sounded more awake now. It made Kimberly smile. He always knew when she needed to talk, was always willing to listen, even if it was at a bad time. "You sound kind of…weird."

Emotion suddenly filled Kimberly. Sadness of her plateau, not being able to break through the stunts she was throwing. "Oh, Tommy, I wish you were here," she admitted.

"Why? What happened?"

Kimberly chewed her lower lip, sensing the alarm in his voice. Even though they weren't physical together in that moment, she'd never felt closer to him. And guilty for making him worry. "Um, it's nothing," She said, reaching up to scratch at her forehead, pushing her bangs away from her face. "I'm just having some trouble landing some stuff today."

"Oh, is that all? Kim, everyone has moments of things not working out. Even me and Jason have bad streaks where we lose our competitions."

"I know, it's just…yeah, I guess you're right. It's nothing. But you should see some of the girls here. They're half my size half my age, and are doing moves that I could only dream of doing."

"Oh, get real." Tommy laughed. " _No one_ is half your size."

Kimberly's nose wrinkled as he said those words, her hand immediately moving to her stomach. "Do you mean it?" Not that she didn't believe him but…she didn't believe him. He didn't see the girls she was with day after day. Didn't see how their stomachs were perfectly flat and hers always held a little pooch towards the bottom. No matter how hard she threw herself into her work, into her ranger duties, into cheerleading, it was never enough to get that flat stomach. Those thing, muscular legs rather than the chunky thighs she had.

" _Yes,_ I mean it. I've told you before. Kim, you're beautiful." It was always so nice to hear those words, but this time it didn't leave her feeling as beautiful as she usually felt. Kimberly frowned, twisting her mouth to the side as she heard him add, "And you have the best moves I've ever seen."

Kimberly snorted. His support was great, but sometimes she was able to see right through him. "I think you're a little biased, there."

"Well, yeah." The simplicity of his answer made Kimberly laughed. "Listen, Kim, I know you. You can do this. But, uh, I know what would make you feel a little better."

"What's that?"

"There's a party after our game against Stone Canyon. And I want you to be there."

"I'll try," Kimberly said. She mentally ran through the schedule in her head. Chances are she had some sort of a late-night practice. Coach Schmidt wanted her to do two-a-days, already giving her the chance to continue to be on the cheerleading team as it was her first commitment. _Honor your commitments,_ Kimberly reminded herself. The same words Coach Schmidt pushed into their heads when one of the girls wanted a day off to hang out with their friends or just an extra day to rest. The team was their commitment.

"You better," Tommy replied. Then he paused for a second. "Hey, Kim, can you hold on a minute? I've got another call."

"Yeah, sure." Kimberly waited as Tommy clicked off. She looked around the gym, catching sight of the scale tucked in the far corner by the water fountains. The same scale that was brought out every morning for Coach Schmidt to determine the weight of each girl on the team. If they lost more weight, it was celebrated, if they gained even one pound…

 _"Alright, Kim, let's go," Coach Schmidt called, his German accent booming over the gym. He nodded towards the scale. "Hop up and we'll get your weight done."_

 _"Now?" Kimberly asked._

 _"Yes, I need to establish a base weight for you. I do this to all the girls. Get up, please."_

 _Kimberly twisted her fingers together at the same time as she twisted her mouth to the side. She looked over at the rest of the team before doing as she was told to climb up onto the scale. Coach Schmidt moved the weights back to and forth to get a good number on the scale to level it out. Kimberly watched his face closely. He resembled Santa Clause in a way, graying hair and rosy cheeks, eyes that gleamed when he was excited. Now they were set in stone while he looked at the numbers, to Kimberly's face, then back to her numbers._

 _"How tall are you?" He practically barked._

 _Kimberly blinked rapidly, startled. "Uh, a little over five feet," she answered quietly. "Five, two, I think?" She used to be the shortest of her friends and was reminded of it constantly. Then Avalon joined the team and standing at an even five feet, was a little shorter than Kimberly, who took the heat off her. Though Kimberly was sure Avalon's nickname for her, Pinkerbell, was a subtle dig at it as well._

 _"Then you'll have to lose a few pounds. Maybe eight."_

 _Kimberly blinked rapidly, again startled. She was always at a good weight, her coaches said so. Now, suddenly, it wasn't good? Wasn't good enough? She pressed her lips together before protesting quietly, "This is average for a girl my height."_

 _Coach Schmidt leveled his eyes at her. "Do you want to be average or do you want to be the best? I am not interested in average," he said firmly. "Whatever you were before is not good enough now. You have to be stronger, faster, higher and the only way you'll do that is with less." He nodded once. "Is that clear?"_

 _Kimberly nodded and stepped away. Olivia immediately took her spot on the scale and Coach Schmidt moved the numbers aside. "An even 90, good job, Olivia!" He held out his hand and Olivia grinned, smacking her palm against it. Coach Schmidt grasped her shoulders and turned her around so that he could present her to the team that stood, arms folded across their chests, to see her beaming face. "Girls, this is what we're striving for. Olivia continues to soar as she executes her_ _moves and trains diligently, feeding her body what it needs to keep up."_

How embarrassing.

Not only being shown up like that but being made an example. And now, here she was, one of the bigger girls on the team, despite the small amount of weight she'd steadily been losing. Now working twice as hard did a lot, and her new diet was working as well but…not as fast as she'd hoped. Kimberly continued to rub her stomach, gently grasping the fat that stuck over her hipbone. She squished it in her hand, making a face.

"Not fat," she murmured. Her lips curled up into a snarl. "Yeah, right." If she could see it, how come no one else could?

"Hey Kim," Tommy said as he clicked back onto the line. He suddenly sounded very awake. No longer yawning every few seconds. "I'm sorry, but I have to take this call."

"Who in the world would be up this early?" Kimberly asked. Then she answered her own question. "Oh, let me guess, Billy, right?"

"Yeah. You know how he gets, always tinkering around in his lab. But he said he could help me with the history test we have coming up and I could really use the help."

"Um, you know the last time you said that, you got a 'B' when Billy guaranteed you to get an 'A' to pull your average up."

"Kim, do you remember who I was with about an hour before the test? Where we left campus for lunch and you said it'd only be a minute, but it took the whole hour?" He didn't need to add that they spent more time kissing and talking than eating, the memory was fresh in her mind. "I was distracted. And it won't happen this time."

"You're right," Kimberly agreed. She heaved a sigh. "I won't be able to see you until class starts."

"It's only a few hours away, Kim. Hey, I'm proud of you and everything that you're doing. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know." Kimberly grinned. Boy, did she love him. She told him as much before hanging up her phone, her fears eased when he said it back with as much feeling as he always did. Smiling, Kimberly slid her phone back into her bag and turned to get up, gasping and flinching when she found Coach Schmidt directly behind her. "Coach Schmidt, um, I was just—"

"This is not a time for personal calls," Coach Schmidt interrupted, voice as hard as steel. His arms were folded tightly over his chest. "You want to win, yes?" Lowering her gaze, like a scolded child, Kimberly nodded. She chewed her lower lip. "Then why waste time with silly drama that can be handled later. I need my team members to be diligent. Perfect." He gestured towards the uneven bars. "You messed up your transition five times by my last count. Then you gave up."

"I'm sorry, Coach Schmidt, I—"

"I don't need apologizes, I need athletes, gymnasts. People who want to go to the Olympics. When you're here, your mind is here. Not on silly boys." Coach Schmidt took a step back, allowing Kimberly the grace to peer up at him through her bands. "Now, I want you to do it again until you get it right ten times in a row, yes?"

"Yes," Kimberly mumbled.

She scurried past Coach Schmidt, past her snickering teammates, past the insecurities that rumbled through her stomach, making her question whether she could really do this. Coach Schmidt was right, she needed to focus.

Kimberly set herself up in front of the uneven bars, cleared her mind, and started to run.

A few hours later practice was over, and Kimberly felt better. She landed every one of her next stunts that she tried. She couldn't keep the grin off her face as she practically sprinted to her mother's car, waiting at the curb.

"Kimberly!"

Hearing her name called, Kimberly turned around to face Coach Schmidt as he locked the gym behind the last leaving girl. Kimberly waved to her mother, who continued to insist driving her to practice. Kimberly always protested, she had her own car—a pink convertible she loved—but her mother never wanted to risk her daughter driving while tired.

Ms. Hart nodded back, and Kimberly turned to allow Coach Schmidt to catch up with her. He was grinning, cheeks rosy, as when he reached her side. "You're getting it now. I can really see your improvements." He gently tapped her temple, making Kimberly smile at the tickling sensation. "Once you clear your mind, you can do anything."

"You really think so?" Kimberly asked, almost shyly.

"Yes! I haven't seen as much talent in someone in a long time. You can go far, Kimberly. As soon as you realize what it is you really want." With that, Coach Schmidt walked off to his car, meeting up with Olivia as he went, who scurried to his side the moment he left Kimberly's.

"If it helps, I think you were good," a quiet voice said from behind her. Startled, Kimberly turned, seeing a tall, blonde haired blue-eyed girl standing behind her, pulling a white bag up her shoulder. She was dressed in a white t-shirt and gray sweats, a pink sweatshirt tied around her waist, long hair pulled back into a ponytail. "Heaps, actually," she added, alerting Kimberly to an accent to her voice.

"Thanks," Kimberly replied. She looked at the girl curiously. "You were watching me?"

She blushed. "Well, no watching, really. I just saw you on my way to the pool."

"Oh, you're a swimmer."

"A diver. I'm a diver, or, I was. It's hard to explain yeah?" The girl said, making Kimberly smile. That was it, it was an Australian accent, just like the one Avalon and Bailey had. "I swim a lot, I've seen you around a lot as well. You're really good."

"Well, thank you so much." It was the boost of confidence Kimberly really needed. This girl was telling her the truth, not just what she wanted to hear. She even thought of asking the girl what she thought about her weight but cut herself off before she could. Kimberly's eyes swept over the girl, she was tall and lean. A swimmer's body. While Kim was short and…well, she wasn't quite sure. Instead, Kimberly thrust out her hand with gusto. "I'm Kimberly, Kimberly Hart. But my friends call me Kim."

"I'm Katherine Hillard, but my mates call me Kat," she said, shaking Kimberly's hand firmly.

"Are you new here?" Kimberly asked. _Dumb question, Kim. You know practically everyone in Angel Grove and you've never seen this girl before. A new resident always makes the news in some way._ "I mean, I've never seen you before."

"My parents and I moved here almost a week ago. I like it here, very peaceful." Then she looked confused, blinking rapidly. "When there aren't monster attacks and everything."

"Yeah, that can be a little weird sometimes, but you'll get used to it," Kimberly reassured her, trying to hide her knowing smile. "Hey, I've got to go, but I hope you enjoy your time here. Maybe I'll see you around. We can get a burger at Ernie's and I can introduce you to all of my friends."

Kat flashed a warm smile, her eyes lighting up. "That sounds great. So, I'll see you later, yeah?"

"Definitely."

Kimberly waved one more time before hurrying to her mother's car and jumping inside. She glanced at the digital clock on the dashboard, and grimaced, tugging on her seatbelt. She didn't have a lot of time to get home, showered, changed, put her make up on, and make sure she had her homework before getting to school.

"New friend?" Ms. Hart asked, pulling away from the curb.

"Yeah."

* * *

Trini looked up as she closed her locker door, hearing rapid footstep heading her way. She turned, Jason's arm dropping off her shoulders to smile at Kimberly as she approached. The pink ranger ran as fast as she could, shoulder-length chestnut hair flying behind her as she did so, backpack bouncing across her back.

"Relax Kim," Trini called. "Class hasn't started yet."

"I know," Kimberly replied breathlessly, coming to a stop. She leaned over, resting her hands on her knees to catch her breath. "I know. But I didn't want to be late. I haven't been late yet. My mom's car got a flat tire on the way here and I needed to get my homework checked and…" she trailed off, still gasping for air.

"Your homework checked?" Jason raised an eyebrow. "Um, you get good grades, Kim. Since when do you need it checked?"

Kimberly blushed, twisting her fingers together. "Since I fell asleep while doing it last night. And, I'm not quite sure it's up to my usual stuff and Ms. Appleby may mark me down and you _know_ how my mom is about my grades and—"

"—Kim, I get it!" Jason held up his hands, effectively cutting Kimberly off. In his free hand, he held a cup of coffee but pulled it closer to his chest. "I'd offer this to you, but I don't think you need any caffeine to wake yourself up."

Kimberly and Trini exchanged glances and rolled their eyes. Jason was a standup guy, very nice, handsome, and athletic. But his jokes could fall very flat sometimes. So much so that Trini either cringed or managed to hold her face completely steady to make sure that he didn't notice. Other times, like then, he needed the indication that he wasn't funny.

"What's up?" Zack called as he sauntered over, his movements as fluid as the dance moves he perfected daily. "You guys are looking good today," he added to Jason and Trini. "Lovely couple, lovely couple. I'm glad I had a hand in getting you two together." Trini started to protest but Zack already turned his attention to Kimberly and his smile dropped. "Kim, you look like crap," he said bluntly.

Kimberly glared and punched him hard on the arm. The black ranger cried out in pain, grasping the area he'd been hit and ducked down behind Jason, who gave him a 'you so deserved that' look. "Thanks, Zack, I really needed that" Kimberly groused.

"Well," Trini said slowly. She looked over Kimberly's face, studying the makeup she'd put on. Even with the colorful eye shadow and lip-gloss she appeared pale. "Kim, you do look a little sick."

"Not sick, just tired," Kimberly said. She yawned, rubbing at her eyes before stretching hard. The smile of relief that came to her face afterwards made Trini giggle. "We've been working really hard at the gym and it's taken more out of me than I thought it would." She held up her hands. "But it's okay, I've got energy drinks and vitamins to keep me going. Mom promised to get me some while I was at work."

Now Jason looked concerned. Coffee aside, he, like Trini, was a firm believer that your body was your temple and you needed to be careful what was put in it. "Kim, if anything, you just need to get some more sleep. Cut some things out, make a schedule. Not take more pills and things to stay awake."

Kimberly snored. "Make a schedule around Rita's and Zedd's monsters? I don't think so." She grabbed her backpack straps, as if it were going to keep her standing, eyes shifting back and forth. "Have you guys seen Tommy? I wanted to talk to him before class."

"Oh, he's in the library," Zack said, pointing over his shoulder. "He and Av are getting a crash course in all things history before our test. I think I even saw Billy give a sadistic smile when he mentioned it, too. Don't be surprised if our fearless leader and…fearless friend turn into zombies later." He couldn't help himself and added to Kimberly, "I see he's already gotten to you."

Kimberly wound up to punch him again and once more, Zack moved out of the way, hiding behind Jason. He wrapped his arms around Jason's shoulders, holding him close. "My hero!" He gushed before giving Jason a large smack on the cheek, making the red ranger duck out of his friend's grasp, though he laughed along with Trini and Kimberly.

"Careful, Tree, looks like Zack is trying to steal your boyfriend away," Kimberly teased.

"No chance of that happening," Jason said.

He wiped off his cheek with the palm of his hand, flashing Trini a smile so warm it made her blush. Sometimes she couldn't believe they were dating, having had skirted around the mounting feelings and chemistry for each other for years if they were being honest.

Kimberly squeezed Trini's elbow and winked at the yellow ranger, making her lean against her best friend in happiness. Now she knew how Kim and Tommy felt when they were around each other. Trini couldn't get enough of Jason. Almost like he was a drug. It was no wonder they were always together.

"Don't worry, Kim, I'll look over your homework for you," Trini said. She slung her arm around Kimberly's shoulders, prompting Kimberly to loop hers around Trini's waist. "Something tells me these two wouldn't be much help anyway."

"I take offense to that," Zack replied with a light pout. "Not a lot, but a little. Just to let you know."

The girls looked each other and giggled before heading off to their classroom, Trini pausing to give Jason a kiss before she went. They went to the classroom and Trini gathered her books together atop her desk before taking the notebook Kimberly handed her. She flipped it open and stared at the scribblings inside. They started off neat and in Kimberly's looping handwriting. Then she saw everything start to slant; letters pressed together, lines falling down the page, and scratches through multiple lines where Kimberly had started all over again.

It was messy and as Trini knew, not up to par with Kimberly's normal work. She swallowed hard and gave a sympathetic shake of her head. _She must be so tired,_ Trini thought, noticing it. Her schoolwork had never suffered before.

Trini turned to speak to Kimberly but stopped, finding her friend fast asleep.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, that's not good, things are getting to be much more stressful for Kim. Can she handle it? Well, we'll see. Thank you so much for the review of the last chapter as well as those that have checked out _Powerless II._ I hope you enjoyed.

 **~Av**


	10. She Knew What She Was Talking About

**Three Months Ago**

* * *

Kimberly flipped back out of the way and continued backhand springs as Billy continued to advance on her with spinning kicks. Finally, Kimberly landed far enough that she planted her feet firmly on the ground. She fell into a fighting stance, bringing up her hands to shield her face. Billy shot out his hand, smacking his palm against her fist, to knock it down. Kimberly reacted quickly with a block; raising her arm to throw Billy off-balance. His arm flew upwards from the force of her hit, giving Kim the perfect opportunity.

She grabbed Billy's hand by the wrist and spun, lifting his arm up high over his head. Then, with a grunt of effort; he was much taller than she was, Kimberly flipped him over her. Billy fell head over feet and made to land on his back. At the last second, he used his forward momentum to roll forward, across his shoulders, and stood up, back-kicking.

It caught Kimberly in the stomach. She wrapped her hands around his ankle and started to pull. Billy leapt up high and flipped backwards. At the same time, the two spun and tried to strike with a kick—his high, hers low, and managed for their legs to connect right at the ankle. Pain shot up Kimberly's leg as the force of the blow swung the two back into their previous fighting stance.

A low whistle sounded and the two immediately relaxed, smiling at each other. Kimberly opened her arms and squeezed Billy in a tight hug. "That was so great, Billy! You did such a good job!"

"And you were great as well," Billy agreed with a warm smile. "You've certainly improved. I think your extra gymnastics practices has really helped you to hone your craft."

Kimberly smiled, clasping her hands together. Then she reached out and squeezed Billy's arm—easily noticing how much bigger his biceps have gotten over the last few years. "And your practicing with Tommy and Jason have been working out, as well. I didn't know you could move like that." Then she laughed, gently knocking him with her fist. "Your big brain must be a big help."

Billy smiled modestly. He and Kimberly looked over as Zordon's booming voice said, "You both should be proud of your improvements. You and the rest of the rangers have continued to work as a team to take on every threat that have come your way. I can't be more proud of each of you."

"Thank you, Zordon," Kimberly murmured.

It was everything she needed to hear. She looked over at Billy, who exchanged her smile, and nodded back at Zordon. Getting praise from their mentor was something they all strived for and worked hard to receive. But the intergalactic being wasn't one to just give praise. He gave good advice and help when any of the rangers were struggling with things in their lives, reminding them when they were being too self-centered or selfish when the time came that, they were a team, and needed to act like it.

"The rest of the rangers are waiting for you down in the firing room," Alpha added. He turned and headed towards a back wall. "I'll lead the way." The pink and blue rangers followed Alpha to the wall where he pressed his hand flat against it. A panel opened where a scanner rested, scanned his palm, and another panel slid away from the wall, revealing an elevator.

The three stepped inside and the doors slid shut once more before the elevator descended, taking the three further underground the Command Center than any outsider would be able to find. As they descended, Kimberly leaned back against the wall behind her and closed her eyes, letting out a quiet breath. A relieved breath. She'd improved with her fighting, it was all she wanted out of being a ranger, to improve.

In a lot of areas of her life, Kimberly had a lot of confidence. She was nice, she was smart, she had a lot of friends who supported her as much as she supported them. When it came to being a ranger, that was where her confidence started to sway. Not just because it was a lot of things all rolled up into being a ranger; having to sacrifice your own life, being punctual, having everything fall on your shoulders. No, it was the confidence behind it, was she a good ranger? There were many parts of being a ranger Kim knew she was good at, the heart and empathy she felt for those they were trying to protect kept her going.

It was everything else. When she first became a ranger, she was nothing short of a girl that liked to shop for sport and compete on the gymnastics team to get exercise. She watched Jason, Zack, and Trini spar with each other in their own styles of martial arts while she flipped and ducked on a few inches wide balance beam. Fighting wasn't something that interested her to do though watching it was always fun. That's why she was the weakest when they first became rangers.

It was obvious from the way they all fought. Jason was the best with Trini right behind him. Zack was amazing with his hip-hop style added into it. And Billy, who was getting lessons from Jason, Trini, and Trini's uncle at the time, was able to hold out his own far better than she was. _It's no wonder you were a target,_ Kimberly pointed out. _That Rita and Zedd came after you so much._

If she were being honest, she was pitiful the first few times she'd had tried to fight. She relied on her gymnastics to get her away, to get space so that she could land sharp hits from her elbows, knees, and shar slaps from the palm of her hands. It wasn't until more and more ranger duties came up, that she started to become a more competent fighter, understanding what it meant that the only thing that mattered was keeping people safe and making sure monsters didn't destroy the city.

Her hard work was paying off. Finally, the elevator reached its destination and Alpha, Kimberly, and Billy stepped off to see the rest of the ranger team standing at their marked firing lanes. All of Kimberly's confidence slid out of her. They were doing target practice. _Great,_ Kimberly thought, frowning unhappily. Still, she dutifully walked to her place, in between Zack and Tommy, and picked up her blaster and protective glasses. Once the glasses were firmly in place, she pulled on her ear protectors then picked up the blaster, looking it over.

Target practice was the one thing she was the weakest at. She could shoot her Power Bow from any distance and get a bulls-eye, but that was different than using a gun. With the bow, it was weighted for her specific use. Perfect in her hands. She could hold the bow steady and concentrated hard to pull back on it, pointing the tip of the arrows laced inside to a bulls-eye. Had time to breathe and focus while she waited for the exact moment her muscles—now permanently sore muscles—locked together in the perfect position to let the arrow fly.

No, a blaster, a gun, was different. You had to use both hands to hold it steady. One hand wrapped around the handle, index finger gently pressed to the trigger, other hand wrapped around to steady the first hand. Had to be prepared for the recoil the blaster would kick back. With the energy source inside the blasters, it was difficult for Kimberly to control. In the heat of battle, she noticed her blasts, brightly colored pink, missing more often than she got a direct target. The recoil of the gun was difficult for her to handle and, maybe it was a bit of fear as well.

If something went wrong…

"Don't look so scared, Kim, it's not going to hurt you," Zack said, gently jostling her shoulder. Kimberly flashed a smile his way. "I mean, if anything, I'd be more afraid of having to deal with that bit bow you've got."

"Oh yeah?" Kimberly teased. "Why's that?"

"If you think the recoil on these things are bad, what do you think it'd be like if that bow whipped around and smacked you in the face?" Zack made a show of undulating his arms, making a wave roll through this body, before miming smacking himself in the side of the face. Kimberly laughed, making Zack grin and wink at her. "You can use that for one of your routines. Just make sure that you give props to the Zack-Man while you do it."

Kimberly laughed harder. "Oh, so you're going to use my name for fame and fortune?"

"Nah." Zack wrinkled his nose, tried to look offended, waved her off. "Fame and fortune will come later. I just want everyone to know that I'm friends with a gold medalist Olympian." He moved his hands across the air as if reading a newspaper headline. "Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?'

"Hey, come on, this is serious," Jason chided Zack, from his other side.

Zack brought a hand up to his forehead and gave a mock salute. "Aye aye, captain!" Then he paused, bringing that same hand up to cover his mouth, widening his eyes innocently. "Ohh, sorry, I should be saying that to Tommy, shouldn't I?"

"Leave me out of it," Tommy muttered from Kimberly's other side.

He caught the pink ranger's eye and gave her a reassuring wink. Kimberly smiled back but the movement was cut off by her loud laughter when Jason moved to swipe at Zack, making him dance away on his tip-toes to safety. "Calm down, children, we've got work to do." He cleared his throat and turned back to the end of his firing range.

Trini placed her hands on her hips and asked, "Now, how come you can concentrate on this but when I'm trying to tutor you in math, you do everything in your power not to do math?"

Zack looked at her as if it were obvious. "Um, because math is boring." He gave Kimberly a 'do you believe her?' look, making her laugh all over again. That's what she loved about Zack, how he was so confident about _everything._ If it were possible to take that, bottle it up, and use it as a daily supplement, Kimberly would put down any money amount to get some.

"Are you all ready?" Alpha's voice broke through the ranger's laughter and the group immediately snapped to focus. "We'll start the training procedures now." And with that, the lights in the room darkened and the rangers all stood, holding their blasters in hand as they were trained to do.

Kimberly let out a long breath, extending her hands arms as far as they'd comfortably go. Tightened her grip along the blaster. Waited for the target to be set in place. Then there was a low dinging sound, like the bell at a martial arts tournament or a wrestling match, and the rangers all started to blast away at the targets set in front of them. Kimberly chewed her lower lip as she watched her blasts shoot just to the left and right of the target. The ones landed on the target where very close to the bulls-eye but didn't quite reach it. Then there was the one, making Kimberly's heart skip a beat. And another.

She was getting better.

But it wasn't in enough time before training ended. The lights came back on and, glumly, Kimberly pulled off her protective goggles as the targets were moved closer for the rangers to assess their work. Kimberly craned her neck to look at the results; Bailey had done a bit better than her, half of her shots were bulls eyes, the others were close, then Zack was next, who laughed that he must've had something in his eye, then Trini, and Jason, who admitted that he didn't prefer to use the gun-like weapon compared to his Power Sword, Billy, who lamented that some of his calculations had been off, Tommy, and then Avalon, who got a perfect score.

The orange ranger smiled a little as praise was sent her way, but Kimberly noticed the smile didn't reach her eyes. _Why would it?_ Kimberly noted. _All the things she's done with the Vipers had to have helped her with target practice. Just how many people has she hurt?_ The thought crossed her mind to ask, but knew it wasn't smart. Avalon didn't talk about the Vipers and made sure to keep that part of her life separate from the rangers. _How_ she managed to do it, Kim didn't know and would probably never ask.

Just like she'd never truly ask Billy how it felt to have his mother become caught in the crossfire of their ranger world. How she'd never ask Trini what Khoa truly had done to her. How she'd never ask Jason what happened the night he was beaten up. How she'd never ask Zack about his real feelings of his parents not enjoying his dancing. How she'd never ask Tommy about his thoughts of his birth parents. Some things you just didn't talk about.

And Kim didn't want to talk about her score. Quickly, she ripped the target off the clamps and folded it together to stuff into the pocket of her jean shorts, avoiding everyone else's gaze. She brought her hands up to push her fringe back from her face and sighed heavily.

Besides, she had a gymnastics expo to get ready for.

* * *

"Thank you for coming out," Coach Schmidt said, voice booming through the microphone and over the crowd that lined the streets of the marina. Giant spring-mats had been meticulously placed for the gymnastics expo that brought many from around Angel Grove and the nearby cities and counties to experience. "Your generous donations will help our cities children to participate in gymnastics clubs where they will learn the sport, health, nutrition, and important of all, have some fun."

The audience clapped and Coach Schmidt grinned, looking out over the crowd. He looked into the crowd then over his gymnasts, stopping on each face to give a smile of pride. Kimberly felt her cheeks flush when his eyes landed on her. It was still so hard to believe all this was still happening to her. "without further ado, let's welcome our first gymnast. An Olympic medalist, Olivia Munroe."

Olivia waved to the crowd, took a deep breath, steadied herself, then launched herself into the tumbling routine down the long strip of the practice mat. Kimberly chewed her lower lip as Olivia picked up speed, flipping and twisting down the mats, doing moves that she could only dream about. And Olivia landed it perfectly, throwing her hands into the air, giving a gold medal smile to the cheering crowd.

Then it was Kimberly's turn. She smiled hearing her name called, "Our next gymnast and up and comer, someone you really want to be on the lookout for, Kimberly Hart!" And it was then Kimberly's turn to smile towards the crowd. She stepped away from Tommy, giving him and her friends a quick, short wave, before moving into place. Then she did the same as Olivia had done before, took a deep breath, steadied herself, and launched herself forward in a sprint.

A few steps and Kimberly threw herself forward onto her hands, turning into a cartwheel. She stepped out and turned so that her back was facing the direction she wanted her bod to go and did a series of back handsprings, twists, no handed flips, and steps outs before throwing herself into a rapid forward tuck and landed cleanly, knees bent. With the swell of the audience cheering, Kimberly stood up straight and threw her hands into the air.

Kimberly bounced off the mats and over to the sidelines where she had to get dressed. Along with the expo, they were expected to sell t-shirts and other merchandise to raise money for the gymnastics club that was an affiliation to the youth shelter. Kimberly was to have a few hours of selling shirts before she did her next exposition, then hung out with her friends at the marina for the rest of the night. A bright smile on her face, Kimberly maneuvered herself to Olivia's side.

"Don't you hate these things?" Olivia mumbled. She yanked her hair free from the collar of her sweatshirt before pushing up the sleeves of her garment. Kimberly glanced at her, noticing how big the sweatshirt was. It looked like Olivia was being swallowed up inside, like a child wearing their parent's clothes. A giggle came to Kimberly's lips, she suppressed it when Oliva scowled and shoved her hands into the pocket of her sweatshirt.

Kimberly shrugged, tying her pink sweatshirt around her waist. It had been chilly that morning when they arrived to get in extra practice and help set things up. Now that the sun was rising high in the sky, it was getting warmer than she expected. The last thing she needed was to be dripping with sweat when she was selling t-shirts and water bottles.

"I don't know, they can be kind of fun," Kimberly denied.

She looked over her shoulder and blew a kiss to Tommy before lifting her chin in a nod. Tommy nodded back and held up his hand, moving off along with her friends as they laughed and smiled with each other, going to the nearest booth. Kimberly smiled, watching as Fred and Bailey raced ahead to get to the cotton candy with Tommy following right behind them, Jason and Trini clasped each other's hands and moved at a slower speed, and Billy and Avalon deep in conversation as they walked along, arms brushing against each other's.

That was happening a lot lately, she suddenly realized. Them off doing their own thing while Kimberly had to be at the gym, at the youth center, at school, at home doing homework…there was _always_ something for her to do.

Pushing the thought away, Kimberly added to Olivia, "And besides, Coach Schmidt will be mad if we duck out. We signed up for this time, remember?" She placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head. Her ponytail fell over her shoulder. "In fact, you were the one who talked me into it. I wanted to take the later shift."

Olivia smiled and patted Kimberly on the shoulder before throwing her arm around it. "First thing you need to know, rookie, is that Coach Schmidt is always so busy with the expo that he doesn't notice. By the time things wind down, he'll be all over the other girls like white on rice. Like…" she thought for a moment. "A power ranger on those monsters."

Kimberly forced a laugh. Not just because of the power ranger mention that immediately made her eyes flicker to Olivia's, wondering if she knew the truth. But because of the name she had bene called. Rookie. She hated that. Hadn't she proven herself by that point? She'd been working with them for over a month now, almost two months. And she was still considered a rookie?

"And, besides, you need to work on your pike," Olivia continued, not noticing Kimberly's stare. "If anyone asks, we'll just tell Coach Schmidt we went to the gym to practice. Alright?" She flashed her teeth in a bright smile. "Trust me."

Kimberly nodded and followed Olivia away from the large crowd and down the quieter, side streets. Kimberly felt herself loosening up as the girls walked along down the city streets, talking about everything that came to their minds. School, shopping, boyfriends, their friends, gymnastics, their favorite TV shows and movies. While they talked, Kimberly found herself liking Olivia more and more, not finding her as intimidating as she had been.

 _She must be under a lot of pressure,_ Kimberly thought, watching Olivia as she talked animatedly. _Being a gold medalist and working hard to stay on top. All that praise that Coach Schmidt puts on her must be hard to live up to._ Kimberly's eyes shifted to the side. _Just like being a ranger. We want to get better, take down putties faster, keep the city safer with days, weeks of training. No matter how good we are, we can always be better._

"Ooh! Look!" Oliva ducked into a pastry shop and leaned close to some cannoli. She sniffed loudly, licking her lips. "Yum, can you believe this? It's all freshly made." Her eyes roved over the desserts while Kimberly tore her eyes away. "Which one is your favorite?"

 _No, don't. You're on a good diet, don't break it,_ she warned herself. "None of them," Kimberly replied. She brought up a hand and scratched behind her ear. "I'm on a diet."

Straightening herself, Olivia's eyebrows rose curiously. "Oh really? What kind?"

"Um." Kimberly sucked her lower lip into her mouth. _Cutting out everything I love to make more time to practice._ "It's my own," She explained. "I just started it."

"Come on, my treat. One won't kill you."

Kimberly released her lips from between her teeth and looked over the desserts once more. Her stomach growled, mouth filled with saliva. It all smelled, so, _so_ good and…was that a chocolate icing doughnut? A pout came to Kimberly's lips when her eyes fell on her favorite breakfast. Well, besides her mother's waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. She could feel her resolve splintering, cracking, breaking, shattering, exploding…

"Fine!" The word slipped from Kimberly's lips before she could stop them. "Fine, you got me. I'll have one of the doughnuts." Olivia grinned, nodded, and hurried to grab some desserts. She paid for it and ushered the two out to the nearby patio. Once out, the girls immediately started in on their sugary treats. "Ugh, after today I have to go back on my diet. All this fattening stuff is so amazing but…"

Olivia lifted an eyebrow. "But what?"

Kimberly gaped back at her. She leaned back in her seat and spread her arms wide, motioning to herself. "Hello! Look at me! I'm the fattest girl on the team!" Her shoulders slumped as Kimberly curled in on herself. "You saw what Coach Schmidt did to me on the scale. It was _majorly_ embarrassing." She rolled her eyes, looking away from her teammate. "The idea of that…I can't imagine eating any more of this stuff." She placed her hand on her stomach, already regretting it.

Olivia bobbed her head back and forth. Then she leaned forward and lowered her voice. "There _are_ ways to get around it," she murmured. "Shortcuts. Ways to eat whatever you want and not gain a pound." She gave Kimberly a meaningful look.

Kimberly figured it out in a second. Throwing up. Eating everything they could and throw it up after. No. She couldn't do that. The last time she threw up, when her father didn't show, it was so gross but…she had felt lighter. And during practice the next day she _did_ get more height on her parallel bars and flips and…everything. She felt good, though. Great. Her new diet was working out and she was steadily improving. _Not in target practice, though._ The dark through entered her head before she could stop it.

Shaking her head, Kimberly continued to avoid Olivia's gaze. So _that's_ why she had been throwing up that day. Why she hadn't wanted her to tell Coach Schmidt. Olivia continued speaking, as if not noticing Kimberly's hesitation. "I couldn't diet and train seven hours a day and not be tired. And now I'm not. It's no big deal."

Instead of responding, Kimberly popped the last bite of her doughnut into her mouth and chewed slowly. She looked over to the crowd and sat up straight, eyes widening when she saw a familiar face walking her way. "Mm!" Kimberly wiped off her mouth and lifted her hand to wave. "Kat! Over here!"

"Hi, Kimberly," Kat greeted. She walked over, gently shifting her purse to her other shoulder. Kimberly stood up and leaned in, giving her new friend a hug. "What are you doing here?" Then she blushed and looked at Kimberly's attire. "I mean, well, I know why you're _here_ but—"

"Oh, our next even isn't until later," Oliva interrupted. She smiled and stood up, holding out her hand. "I'm Olivia."

"Katherine," Kat replied. "But my mates call me Kat."

"She's from Australia," Kimberly added. "And just moved to Angel Grove."

"And it looks like I moved in at just the right time," Kat added. She sighed heavily, shaking her head. "There's something to do while I'm waiting for my car to get fixed. It broke down on my way in and I don't know _anything_ about cars."

Olivia gave her a funny smile. "It doesn't look like you've been hanging out with the grease monkeys," She remarked.

Kat smiled back. "Yeah, I, uh, got some help from this guy. He and his friends were passing by when I pulled up and he said he'd help me out." She chuckled. "And then this other guy started to play the music in the car and danced…"

Kimberly laughed. "Sounds like my friends." She thought for a moment. "Did the guy that helped you with your car have long brown hair in a ponytail? Kind of bushy eyebrows?" Kimberly's grin widened at Kat's nod. "Oh, that was my boyfriend, Tommy!"

"Then I'm glad I ran into him," Kat agreed.

Olivia snorted. "Yeah, I bet you are." A tense silence stretched between the girls, Kimberly's eyebrows coming together as she looked at her friend. Olivia merely smirked and looked away from her, as if suddenly interested in something else.

Clearing her throat, Kat said quietly, "Well, all of your friends are really nice. I'd like to get to know them better if I ever got the chance."

"Yeah, I think that—" Kimberly's mouth clamped shut when she heard her communicator go off. She slipped her hand over her wrist, covering it so that the other girls didn't notice. As it was, Olivia and Kat looked around to determine where the source of the sound was. Kimberly took a step back and looked over to see a rush of movement, her friends rounding the corner to find a secluded spot. "Um, I've got to go."

"What?" Olivia cried. She nodded her head back towards the expo. "We have to get back soon. I know Coach Schmidt is busy but he's still going to check on us. You know how he is about our commitments."

Kimberly licked her lips, continuing to back away. She did her best not to look towards her friends, who were waiting for her. "I know, but it's an emergency. I've got to…I have…something came up. I'm sorry. I really need to go. I promise I'll be back as soon as possible. It was great seeing you again, Kat! I promise, I'll be back. Sorry!" Kimberly turned on her heel and ran towards her friends, who huddled around Tommy, listening to Zordon's message.

She arrived in time to hear Zordon say, "Get to the park, immediately." She brushed her bangs back and nodded to her friends. "Let's go."

"But Kim, what about your expo?" Tommy reminded her.

Kimberly looked her boyfriend in the eye, noticing the grease splatters on his hands. "I can make it back. This is important." Tommy's eyes continued to search hers for a few long moments and Kimberly shook his arm. "Tommy!"

"Right," Tommy replied. He looked at the rest of their friends and they moved into their stances. "It's morphin' time! Tigerzord!"

"Ankylosaurus!"

"Stegosaurus!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber-tooth Tiger!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

* * *

Kimberly gasped as the last bit of the contents of her stomach emptied into the toilet bowl. She looked away and blindly reached out, flushing the toilet. Closing the lid, Kimberly turned and sat on it, running her hands over her face. She couldn't believe she did that but...she had no choice. She didn't have a chance to do so earlier. Goldar's attack had lasted longer than she thought it would, the bruises on her shoulders and back from hitting the ground so much hidden by her leotard.

By the time he'd been defeated, she was late to getting back to the gym to start their late practice. Coach Schmidt had given her a harsh stare—a silent reprimand as she slunk into the locker room. There, Kimberly raced back and forth to get out of her team-oriented sweats and into her practice clothes. The doughnuts rattled along in her stomach as she went, the stress of the resulting fight in the back of her mind. They'd won, but now she had Coach Schmidt's gaze on her. That meant she'd be made an example of for the other girls.

Driven harder than any of the other girls, weighed in front of everyone…Kimberly couldn't take it. The thought of being singled out like that…she turned and hurried into an empty toilet, throwing the door open to kneel by the toilet. _Get rid of it,_ she thought. _Get rid of the doughnuts, get rid of everything._ In one swift movement, Kimberly had stuck her finger down her throat until the walls of her stomach clamped together and all the good she'd eaten that day came back up.

She was so busy throwing up she hadn't noticed Olivia walk into the locker room and stand by the toilet stall. As Kimberly sat on the toilet lid, she reached out and rubbed the pink ranger between the shoulders. "It's no big deal," Olivia said, rubbing Kimberly's back. "Everybody does it."

Kimberly nodded back, still hiding her face behind her hands.

She wasn't quite sure she believed it. But Olivia was a gold medalist and she knew what she was talking about, right?

* * *

 **A/N:** And there's the next chapter! Things are starting to become harder for her to juggle, let alone keeping her secret identity as a power ranger. But I really wanted to get more into her thoughts on this one, mostly with her confidence. We all know that Kim is very confident in general, but when she's competing with other gymnasts who may be better than her and worries about being a good ranger, it just makes things harder.

In an odd way, I really enjoy writing her being so down in the dumps. Just a way to show the different sides of her, to make her a well-rounded person. Hope you're still enjoying. _Powerless II_ has recently been updated with it's second chapter if you've missed it.

 **~Av**


	11. She Was Struggling

**Three Months Ago**

* * *

Kimberly was struggling.

Every day was the same. She's get up early in the morning and do a couple of crunches and sit ups. She'd drink a strawberry-banana smoothie to wake herself up. Get in a few crunches and sit ups while the blender was running. Finish the smoothie, then grab her gym bag and clothes, made sure her finished homework was in her backpack, and took both to throw into the backseat of her pink convertible. She'd look at the messages on her phone, one from Tommy every morning to encourage her, and head off to the gym.

She'd attack practice as hard as she could. Hard enough that she'd throw up, take a sip of water to wash away the taste of stomach acid that remained in the back corners of her mouth, where her jaws hinged. Then kept going until practice ended. She'd listen as Coach Schmidt told her everything she was doing wrong before going to the locker room with the rest of her team where they'd talk about the things they needed to work on and their upcoming competitions. Kimberly flushed whenever the expo was brought up; she and Olivia ended up being caught by Coach Schmidt as they'd goofed off, and in result had to do extra suicides. Then there was the fact she had to lie about where she'd been when Coach Schmidt demanded to know her absence. She couldn't say she was a power ranger, but had no good excuse either.

Olivia came up with one for her—nerves of the expo event gave her some…stomach troubles. Kimberly owed her for that. Then when practice was over, Kimberly would race to shower, change, and get to her car so not to be late for school. It was starting to become a bad habit. She and her friends would wait on the front steps of the school and hang out when the weather was great, and by their lockers when the weather wasn't permitting. Even if she were close to being late, her friends would wait for her, to catch up on what was missed while at practice. Those days were coming further and further apart, she'd make it to school just as the late bell was ringing, earning a sharp glance from the teacher of whatever first class she was tardy to.

She'd go through the rest of the day, trying—and most times failing—not to fall asleep. One of her friends—and even from Bulk's and Skull's antics—tended to wake her up, making her glance around guiltily before yawning and working hard to keep her eyes open. Lunchtime had her working hard to catch up on her studies, and to keep herself eating what she could. Most of the days the food was okay, making it easy to stick to her new diet, other days where she'd eat so much of her favorites, she'd scarf and then throw it up later. Just a few times, it wasn't too bad.

Nothing to be worried about.

The school day would end and Kimberly would be off to rest of her commitments, juggling cheerleading practice with her volunteer work with her gymnastic practices. Whatever it was had her running all over the city to complete, with ranger duties coming in every now and then. Then she'd arrive back home to a dinner her mother would cook, of which she'd only eat half or a little less, then yawn, take a bath, and finish her day by doing her homework. Or, what bit of her homework she could do before falling asleep and doing it all, all over again.

Somehow, she was able to get up and do it over and over. Somehow, she was able to make time to spend with her friends. Somehow, she was still able to go to football games, the mall, and have dates with her boyfriend. But she was struggling.

None of the accomplishments she was making in gymnastics, the higher jumps, leaps, and twists off the balance beams and adding in a few more rotations on the uneven bars, was helping too much. They were amazing, but she was struggling.

"You're getting a lot more air than I ever could," Kimberly said to Olivia after a practice. She gasped for air, having flung herself off the uneven bars in a fell swoop. Her ankle blazed with pain the second she landed, causing a sharp, quiet " _ow,"_ to escape her lips. She slightly removed the weight from her foot, not wanting to bring attention to it. "When you dismount, I mean." She paused. "Maybe if I lost some more weight."

"It does help," Olivia said. "It's kind of hard to get air when you have a bowling ball around your waist, you know?"

A short, humorless laugh escaped Kimberly's laugh. She'd learned not to laugh about things like that. Not when practicing. Not in gymnastics. No, things had to be serious. So serious it was like no one there knew how to have a good time. They only giggled like school girls when in the privacy of their locker room and even then, it wasn't always completely private. The team medic popped in every now and then for checkups and being the one to record their weight when Coach Schmidt wanted to do team weigh-ins, things got tense then.

As if all their secrets would be revealed with her listening. How many times had Kimberly been quick to hide her communicator when she came around? More often than she'd like, honestly? It was always so easy to say 'it's a new watch' whenever asked about it. But with the team medic and Coach Schmidt around…the pressure got to her.

"So, Olivia," Kimberly said after a minute. "Maybe you'd like to hang out some time after this."

Olivia merely laughed in response. "You think you're going to have a life outside of this?" That was funny. That was the joke.

It stopped being funny when it started being true.

Kimberly's mother noticed it first. She passed through the hallways, doing laundry and other household work, when she'd pass by her daughter's room and find her either sleeping at her desk, or standing front of her mirror, glancing at her arms, legs, and stomach. Almost scrutinizing herself. Tommy was the next one to notice it.

He called her as he did every weeknight to talk while they did their homework. Just a call to see how she was doing. "Things are fine," Kimberly said as she propped herself up in her bed. She carefully, gingerly, extended her left leg as far as it would go. Then she placed her foot on a stack of pillows and dropped a bag of ice wrapped in a towel onto her ankle. "I kind of hurt my ankle. I've had to ice it for a while now."

"Well, I'm sure all of us understand that," Tommy teased. "There's always something wrong. Actually, I think I may have tweaked my shoulder or something. Did those putties get harder or…?"

"Yeah, their heads must have," Kimberly joked. "There's nothing in there so it has to be reinforced by something." The two giggled quietly and Kimberly tilted her head to the side and cradled her phone in her ear. She pulled her right leg up bend at the knee, becoming more comfortable. Pushing her homework aside, she pulled out a magazine and started to flip through it. "You'd think Rita and Zedd would be a bit smarter about the things they send after us."

"You know they keep watching us everywhere we turn, Beautiful," Tommy chided her. "Don't give them any ideas." Kimberly giggled quietly. "So, what are you doing tonight? Do you want to go get something to eat?"

Kimberly paused, the smile still on her face. There was nothing she loved more than to spend time with him but…eating? No, it hard enough keeping her diet going. Going out with Tommy meant she'd just scarf through everything. Her stomach was getting used to her reduced meals, it was a struggle, but it was making her stronger. Her coaches and teammates noticed. She was doing better, moving up on the team ladder. Coach Schmidt didn't harp on her as much as he did at the beginning. She had to stay strong.

"Ohh, Tommy," she cooed. "You know I'd love to—"

"You can't tell me 'no'," Tommy swiftly interrupted. "I know you really want to."

"You know the rules," Kimberly said. She sat up straight and glanced at the door to her bedroom, wondering if she'd find her mother hovering by the doorway. "No dates until the weekend." It wasn't quite a rule her mother made, she could date Tommy on the weekdays if he went to the house and they studied together. Kimberly smirked. _Sure, if by studying you mean waiting until you leave the room, mom,_ she thought, but never said out loud. Besides, if she waited until the weekend, it'd be her cheat day and she could eat more. "And don't tell me that I can't say 'no', Thomas. 'No' has never been a hard word for me to say."

"Very true," Tommy agreed. "And I hope your mom isn't listening or else I came off very badly right there. Like I was trying to control you or something."

This time Kimberly let out a naughty giggle and lowered her voice to a seductive purr. "You couldn't handle me, anyway." Then she laughed loudly when she heard Tommy sputter and stammer out a response. Oh, he was so cute. "I'm just teasing you, Tommy."

"Yeah, well, you better stop it. You're giving me ideas."

"What kind of ideas?"

It was Tommy's turn for his voice to become seductive, this time making Kimberly blush. "Wouldn't you like to know."

"Hmm. Maybe."

"Trust me, you wouldn't be able to resist."

Feeling herself flush even further, Kimberly took the bag of ice from her ankle and brought it to rest on her forehead. Okay, things were starting to get a bit steamy now. Not that it was any new territory for the two of them. Their making out had become pretty hot and heavy as of late and Kimberly wanted nothing more than to continue the delicious, amazing feeling of his hands on her when they were truly alone. As such, they didn't get that time together so much anymore and it was great when they could. Astounding. If there was a better word for it…she'd already run through a mental dictionary of how he made her feel.

But she also knew how serious they were getting. How close they were to sealing the deal. She wanted to. With Tommy. There was no one else she wanted to do it with, the man she loved. And yet, she needed to be perfect for him. Kimberly slid off her bed and stood in front of her mirror. She lifted the bottom of her shirt and studied her stomach. And frowned. Pudge. Flab. Everything in the worst spot it could ever be. Everything that made her look…less than desirable.

So much so that her playfulness was immediately released as she let out a sigh. "Sorry, Tommy, but I really can't. I overstuff myself before I got home tonight. Some of the girls and I went out to carbo load and you know how I am with pasta."

"Right, don't get in the way or else you'll lose some fingers. I think you're the same way with donuts. And cake. And cookies. And burgers. And—"

"I get it," Kimberly interrupted. Her stomach started to growl from the mentions of all her favorite food. Reminding her how much of a liar she was. "Hey, I've got to go, alright. I have so many things I need to catch up on and talking to you all night isn't going to get anything done." She paused. "Maybe, I'll call Billy."

"Oh, so you can talk to Billy all night?"

"It's not like it'll be fun. All that techno speak tends to bore me," Kimberly joked. She ran a hand through her hair, flopping back on her bed. She stretched out to her back and studied the ceiling. "I'm kidding. You know I love Billy. But I really need to keep my grades up, and you're distracting."

"I am?"

"Yeah, definitely."

"Okay, I'll take it."

"I'm sorry, I really wish I could go out tonight. I just can't."

"It's fine," Tommy replied. "I'll see you later, Beautiful. I love you."

"I love you, too, Handsome," Kimberly murmured in reply. She was still smiling as she hung up the phone. Only for it to ring a few seconds later. "What else could you have forgotten to say, Tommy?" She asked as soon as she picked up.

 _"Hi, honey. It's me."_

Kimberly's blood froze. She recognized the voice the second he started to speak. Said the words she'd longed to heard for so long. Acted as if no time had passed. Her father. But instead of feeling as excited as she thought she'd be Kimberly felt…hot. Clammy. The world was closing in around her. Her breath suddenly felt tight as she tried to form words to say to him. To say to the man who she longed to hear from the moment her parents got divorced. The man she hoped and prayed would come to her competitions and she was continuously disappointed by.

 _"Kimberly?"_

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for water. She gasped for air, mouth flapping, a strange, guttural sound escaping her lips. Kimberly swallowed hard, forced herself to breathe. In. Out. In Out. She hung up the phone and tossed it away from her, as if expecting it to take on a life of its own. She kicked it further away from her, to make a point. Go away. Stay away.

Slowly, carefully, Kimberly brought her knees up against her chest and she wrapped her arms around them, pressed her chin to her kneecaps. Stared at her phone. Daring it to ring again. It didn't. And still, she continued to shake and shiver, wondering how it was possible when everything around her was so hot, pressing in on her so much. Kimberly thought about it for the rest of the night, was unable to sleep.

So much so that it was still in her head the next morning as she worked on the balance beam. What was normally her best event, left her tumbling. Every time she dismounted, in a flip that should've had her land on her feet, she simply continued to crash to her back, rolling up to her shoulders, before her body stretched out once more. Kimberly growled, slapping her palms against the mats below her.

"Dammit, Kimberly!" Coach Schmidt snapped while Kimberly continued to lie on the ground. He wiped a hand across his mouth and stormed over to her with more speed than she thought an older man would be able to do. He stood above her, placing his hands on her hips. "Do you know why I'm so angry at you?"

"Probably for the same reason I am," Kimberly mumbled. "I keep messing up."

"You keep _hesitating!"_ Coach Schmidt snapped. "You're scared of something. I don't know what. But you keep stopping yourself before you throw yourself in the air. Stop being so scared and just do it! Or I'll have to get Olivia to. There are three girls in this country who are ready for the Olympics and fifty-thousand others who aren't. You can be there, I want you to have that chance. But right now, you're not even close."

With that, he stalked off and Kimberly pulled herself off the mats and moved back into position again. She held her head high, pressed her lips together firmly to keep her own anger and frustration from getting to her. She climbed back onto the balance beam and went through her routine again. The same routine she could do in her sleep if she were to focus. She kept moving through the routine with as much grace she could muster before throwing herself off to work on the dismount once more.

 _Slam!_

And once again she landed flat on her back. The staccato sound of someone clapping made Kimberly roll her eyes. Of course, someone would be mocking her. Kimberly set her jaw, ready to tell off whomever it was, before she caught sight of Tommy. He grinned and waved at her from across the room, making Kimberly squeal in delight. Made her forget she was in practice. Made her forget the pain in her wrapped-up ankle. Made her feel alive.

She got to her feet and raced over to Tommy, throwing her arms around her neck and hug him tightly. "Oh my god, what are you doing here?" She asked and gave him a long kiss before he could answer. "What are you doing here?" She repeated before kissing him again.

Tommy laughed and pulled his head back. "I can answer you if you stop kissing me," he replied.

"Aww, you don't want me to do that," Kimberly teased.

"You're right." This time Tommy kissed her and squeezed her tightly. Finally, the white ranger stepped back, dropping his hands from her waist. "I figured we could have some breakfast together. And look at what I found. That was amazing."

"No, it wasn't," Kimberly said with a roll of her eyes. She knew what he was referring to. "I slipped on my dismount and over rotated and I wobbled on my push…" Her eyes searched Tommy's, her voice trailing off. He never really got what she was saying when she explained her gymnastics moves but that was okay. He was so sweet to come visit her like that.

"So, do you want to get out of here?"

Kimberly's head jerked back in surprise. Her eyes widened, shifting towards Coach Schmidt then back to Tommy. Coach Schmidt. Tommy. Coach Schmidt. Tommy. She chewed her lower lip. "Now?" She squeaked.

"Yeah."

Kimberly glanced at Coach Schmidt, who looked over at them sharply. His head whipped towards her, eyes narrowing in a glare. "I can't. I mean, I'd really love to, but I can't. That's my coach over there and he's really been riding me really hard." She swallowed hard, licking her lips. The next part was going to be even harder to admit. She'd been dreading saying it, honestly. "I don't know if I can even make it this weekend…"

Tommy's face immediately fell. "We've got our game against Lurray this weekend. You said you'd go. And you missed our game against Hoover."

Kimberly's eyebrows crinkled. Game against Hoover? What game against Hoover? Her mind raced, trying to remember it all. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. A week before she had promised to be at a football game and…hadn't been able to go. Coach Schmidt scheduled another practice. An extra one to be sure they were improving. Conditioning. Doing everything they were supposed to. _That_ game against Hoover.

"Oh yeah." Kimberly lowered her gaze in shame. She scratched the back of her head, smiling bashfully. "I did. And I'm sorry. But…I know I sound like a broken record. I'm so sorry. It's not that I don't want to be there. I _do._ It's just that…"

"I get it," Tommy interrupted. Kimberly studied his face. He looked unhappy, but she could tell from his voice, from the way he looked at her, that he truly did. "Maybe I'll just hang out here for a while, watch what you're doing. And then we can have breakfast, okay?"

Coach Schmidt's voice rang out across the gym, a parent scolding their child. _"Kimberly!"_

"Okay!" Kimberly called back quickly, after jumping at the sudden outburst. She turned to Tommy, grabbing his arm to face him towards the way he came. The last thing she needed was for Coach Schmidt to get even angrier. Maybe even demand why Tommy was there in the first place. Maybe forbid her from going on dates if she wanted to go to the Olympics. "Tommy, I can't talk right now. I really need to practice. Can we meet up later?"

She saw Tommy's face fall even further, frustration flashing through his eyes. This was different than the Tommy everyone knew. The one who was always smiling, always understanding, always willing to help whomever needed it. This was the Tommy that got angry when his progress with martial arts wasn't going as fast as he expected, the Tommy that got angry when facing monsters who ruined an otherwise perfect day.

He was angry.

At _her._

"That's it?" He asked. "You're going to blow me off like that?"

Kimberly could only whisper a quiet, "I'm sorry," in response.

"Yeah," Tommy said shortly. "I know. You've been saying that a lot lately." With that, Kimberly turned on her heel and went back to her practice. Pushing herself, thoughts of Tommy out of her head through the rest of practice. Once she got to school, she could apologize to him and explain how everything was going to work. How she wanted nothing more than to be with him when she got the chance.

So Kimberly hurried through her shower, threw on her clothes, and hurried to school. She arrived before the late bell, the first in a short while. Clambering out of her car, Kimberly turned towards the steps, seeing her friends already gathered around, talking and laughing with each other, without a care in the world. Relief washed over Kimberly as she closed the door to her car.

She'd only just slung her backpack over her shoulder when she heard someone call her name. With raised eyebrows, Kimberly turned around, shoulders slumping in relief when she saw Ms. Appleby walking her way. "Ms. Appleby, good morning."

"And good morning to you, too," Ms. Appleby replied pleasantly. But her smile didn't hold for too long. No, a serious expression came to her face seconds later. Kimberly's eyes shifted, and she asked, "Is something wrong?" prompting Ms. Appleby to say, "Unfortunately, Kimberly, there is." Ms. Appleby rooted through the large satchel hanging off her arm. "I didn't want to talk about this until later, during one of your free periods, but it is serious."

"Serious?" Kimberly licked her lips. "What's wrong?"

"You tell me." Ms. Appleby pulled out a few stapled pieces of paper, folded down the middle, and handed them to Kimberly. The pink ranger's nose wrinkled in confusion as she unfolded the pages. "You're usually a very good student and this was out of character for you. But I couldn't help but notice your quality of homework has slowly been lowering. Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

Kimberly couldn't respond. She could only gape at the test Ms. Appleby had given her. The test with a big fat 'D' written at the top. Quickly, Kimberly folded it back up and shoved it into her backpack, bringing up a hand to cover her mouth. Once more, she glanced at her friends. It was such a stark contrast with how things were shinning so brightly with them while she was struggling in the slowly encompassing darkness.

She was struggling.

* * *

 **A/N:** A lot has been going on lately, but things have worked out now. I'm back with an update. *Grins*. Hope you guys still enjoy it. Also my current favorite story _Protector's Of The Right_ by ToxicWednesday was updated and you guys need to read that update now. Go! Tell her I sent you!

Huh, I just realized that if Kat were there, technically the rangers should have their ninja powers by now. Hmmm.

 **~Av**


	12. Hurt

**Two Months Ago**

* * *

 **Trini:** Hey, are we still on for after the game?

Trini turned her phone back and forth, pursing her lips as she waited for a response. It was the norm with texting Kimberly nowadays. She hated to admit it, but it was starting to become few and far between. Every day, it was as if she didn't seem Kimberly, even if she was in most of her classes. And the pink ranger _was_ at school, sitting right beside her.

Kimberly always smiled and acted as everything was okay, but Trini could see her slowly starting to run down. She fell asleep in nearly every study hall, equally frustrating herself and Billy who used the time to help her with her homework or aid in her studying for a test. She had trouble staying awake in class, drawing the continuous ire of Ms. Appleby as the days went on, though seemed to re-ignite the crush Skull had on her.

A bad boy going after a bad girl. Made sense. But Kimberly was not a bad girl, she was stressed and working hard. Trini watched some of Kimberly's gymnastics practices after school, when she had the chance and her best friend was excelling. She could see the new sense of strength that Kimberly had, noticed her flying higher and faster through her aerial moves and working much more gracefully… _lighter_ in her floor work. The other thing Trini noticed, however, was that the smile Kimberly had to flash—she remembered when they were younger that Kimberly mentioned it was important to look like she was having fun—at the end of her routine as she posed to be scored, never reached her eyes.

It was hollow, a mask. The lines that typically formed around her mouth, a sure sign of the always peppy, smiling pink ranger were nowhere to be found. Her eyes were dead. And she beat herself up more often when something went wrong. Trini would think it was great, but Kimberly would snap at herself.

"Come on!"

"You can do this!"

"You've done it a million times. You're not trying. _Stop_ hesitating."

Trini did her best to encourage her friend but received nothing in response. Almost as if she hadn't heard Trini at all. Nevertheless, Kimberly continued to push herself into the work as much as she could. She did gymnastics practices in the morning, arrived at school to work, still had all her homework handed in on time, sat for her tests and wrote papers, and alternated between clubs, cheerleading, and gymnastics practices.

 _Be honest,_ the yellow ranger quickly scolded herself. _She can't keep up with everything._ Every day they had ranger responsibilities to tend to, Rita and Zedd must've been watching for they threw out everything they could to keep them busy. Putties one day, Goldar the next, bigger monsters that had their zords come together. Even without Kimberly there, her zord autopiloted to create the megazord they needed to fight whatever monster it was.

Trini and the rest of the team were certainly starting to notice her absence. And not just in the areas of being a ranger. Trini jumped, broken out of her thoughts as her cell phone vibrated rapidly in her hand.

 **Kim:** Sorry. :(. I've got to practice. There's so much that needs to be done before my next meet. I need to perfect this move. Rain check? Love ya.

With a sigh, Trini gently tossed her phone aside, watching it bounce across her mattress, before curling her knees up to her chest. She brought her thumb to her mouth and started to chew on the nail, nicking off little flecks of the red polish that adorned it.

Jason, who sat on the foot of her bed, scribbling his pen against a notebook, glanced up at her in concern. "Is everything okay, Tree?" He asked.

Trini thought about lying but decided against it. Not just because her own concern would've gotten to her, not just because Jason knew her better than anyone else, but because if something _was_ going on with Kimberly, maybe the rest of them had noticed but were afraid of saying anything.

"It's Kim," she said slowly.

Jason nodded, putting his pencil down, giving his rapt attention to her. "I figured." Trini's eyebrows knotted together, prompting him to completely abandon his work and mimic her stance, bringing his knees up so that he could wrap his arms around them. He nodded at her. "You always chew your fingernails when you're nervous or worried about something. And I don't think you'd be too nervous around me." He flashed his boyish smile, making Trini laugh.

No, she certainly wasn't nervous around him. Not anymore. Not with the way he supported her so much with Khoa and everything. Not when he supported her so much through _everything._ Her fear of heights, her work to become a good ranger, her insecurities with her passion projects and clubs and activities. Everything. They'd really grown closer through it all, making Trini constantly wonder why she took so long to finally admit her feelings for him. In retrospect, it was obvious how they felt about each other, obvious that everyone else could see it. So much so that she and Jason may as well have been dating the entire time the danced around each other.

 _Well, except when Richie was around,_ Trini reminded herself, trying not to smile. Jason had been supportive then, as well, but even the yellow ranger could see the disappointment and frustration on the red ranger's face when she and Kimberly would giggle and gossip about Richie and Trini's feelings for him. No, Jason was someone who was obvious about his feelings as was Trini. Two souls who truly believed in mind, body, and spirit. It was no wonder she liked him so much.

"You do make me nervous," Trini reassured him. She reached out her hand and grabbed onto Jason's, enjoying the way he shifted his fingers so that they meshed together. A perfect fit as always. The warmth of his hand spread through her body, warming her from the inside out. "In a good way, of course," she added, at the upward hitch of one of Jason's eyebrows.

Jason leaned forward and gave her a long kiss, which made Trini smile before kissing him back. She couldn't help it, he always made her smile. Even when she was worried about something. That would've been his best ability, other than what he could do as the red ranger. He managed to make others feel better about their problems with ease and was modest about it all the way.

"But?" Jason prompted when he pulled back, keeping his face close to hers.

Trini sighed, tuning her head to rest her cheek against her upraised knees. She kept her eyes on her boyfriend, using his strength to get her admission out. "But," She agreed. "I'm not nervous. I'm worried about Kim. She just bailed on hanging out again."

Jason's eyes narrowed slightly. Decided to give Kimberly the benefit of the doubt. "Has it been that many times?"

Trini nodded silently. By her count, this was the sixth time that Kimberly had bailed on her. But she kept trying. Things were to work out at some point, right? And besides, Kimberly was always so guilty when she had to cancel plans. Guilty when she missed football games, guilty when missing out on movie night, guilty when having to repeatedly apologize to Billy about falling asleep on him. Hart was an apt last name for her because she had a lot of it, the biggest one of anyone she knew. And yet, there was only so long that she could continue to turn things down or have to reschedule.

"I mean, she's busy Tree. This can't be easy for her."

"I know. I know that." Trini squeezed her eyes shut. "But I can't help the way I feel. I think, maybe, she's pushing herself too hard. When was the last time she had a break? When was the last time she ha a day off? Of anything? Our weekends are supposed to be our days off, but Kimberly uses her weekends to train all day. And she's falling asleep all the time, Billy says he's hardly been able to help her with her homework or studying because she's been nodding off and you know it takes a lot for Billy to say something."

Jason nodded, listening quietly as Trini continued her explanation. That was the other part she liked about him, _really_ liked. He didn't take everything at face value. He had to listen to all sides of he situation. Had to get as much information as he could before deciding to speak on a topic or even give his opinion. When it was something serious, of course. There were other times he was as jokey and jovial as Zack could be. Now wasn't one of those times.

"And, you know, I couldn't help but notice she and Tommy haven't really been getting along lately."

"You mean they're not cooing at each other all the time?" Jason managed a small smile. Then she sighed and stretched himself out, resting his feet by her hands. Trini lifted her hand and placed it atop Jason's feet, gently rocking them back and forth. "No, I've noticed it, too," he finally said. "I wasn't sure if it was anything I should get into."

"You know Tommy gets embarrassed about that sort of thing," Trini said, feeling herself relax knowing Jason was on her side as well. "He doesn't really like to talk about when he and Kim get into fights and stuff like that. Has he said anything to you?"

Jason lifted an eyebrow, cocked his head. "That's not just a Tommy thing, no guys really like to talk about that sort of thing, let alone with each other." He waved a hand. "It's like…pulling teeth. How do you think I felt when Zack kept trying to force me to talk about you?"

Trini couldn't help but smile a little. "You tried to avoid it?"

"Like the plague," Jason admitted. He ran a hand through his hair, suddenly looking embarrassed. Then the look faded to one of concern. "I can try talking to him about it, though I can't promise anything. They might just be having a fight over something, I don't know. As for Kim, I have noticed she's been run ragged. I can try talking to her as well, if you think it'd help. But you know how Kim gets when she's _really_ stressed. It's kind of scary."

"It can't be any worse than watching her when there's a monster sale going on with only things in her size left," Trini added with a giggle. She felt her fears melting away almost immediately, at least they were able to laugh about it. To understand they were in things together. Knowing there was someone else who understood her worries and fears. "I've never seen someone so close to ripping someone else's throat out before."

"So, you don't remember when we were, mmm, seven, and she screamed at me and Zack because we accidentally got grape juice on her dress?"

Trini thought for a moment then burst out laughing. She remembered that clearly. There weren't so many times she'd laughed so hard than that day. Then again, she did warn them that if they didn't stop messing around then something would happen. And, of course, Kimberly just so happened to get in the way of their fighting. Of _course,_ she happened to turn at the right time to get hit by a wave of juice the boys were squirting at each other. Of _course,_ that was the day she had a presentation she was excited to give as well. Trini simply sat aside and giggled behind her hand while Kimberly tore Jason and Zack a new asshole and Billy pretended that nothing was going on while he cowered behind his upturned book.

Even he was smart enough to know not to get in the middle of it, despite his meek protests for them to calm down. Their teacher simply watched in baffled surprised as the tiny girl dressed in bright pink managed to make the two boys cower in fear.

"Are you laughing at me?" Jason asked, his voice breaking through Trini's giggles. The yellow ranger tried her hardest to calm down, to put a plug into her laughter. Anything. But still was unable to stop. The memory was just too funny.

Or was it that she hadn't properly laughed in a while. When she was so worried about Kimberly and everything that was going on with her. It was a bit of a curse, really, being so in tune with other people's emotions, thoughts and fears. It hung over her like a dark cloud until things were talked out and realized. It had been the same struggles she'd had to deal with herself, when she had to deal with Khoa. When it was herself she could ignore it, act like everything was okay, work hard to keep up appearances all because of what she knew in her culture. To respect her parents and follow their lead. Now that it was someone else, red flags were going off all over the place.

It was exhausting. And the times she was able to be relax were all she needed, to step away for a little bit. Trini continued to laugh. Not just because of the memory, but because of how calm she was. Jason sat up on his knees and leaned over her.

"You're laughing at me!" He declared. Trini tried her best to shake her head but couldn't. Her body wracked violently with unbridled mirth. Tears rolled down her cheeks as it continued. She finally managed to suck in a deep breath, giving herself a bit of a break. Unfortunately, it was too soon for Jason shot out his hand and grabbed a pillow from behind Trini and lifted it over his head. "If you don't stop, you're going to get it."

Feebly, Trini lifted her hands to defend herself before Jason started to gently whack her with the pillow. Trini's laughter turned into shrieks as Jason continued to strike her over and over. Finally, she shot out her hands and knocked the pillow away from Jason. He didn't pay much attention to it, instead, moving his hands to her shoulders to pin her down. For a moment, Trini felt a stab of fear shoot through her stomach. It was similar to the way Khoa would beat her up.

Then she took a deep breath and allowed herself to relax. This was Jason she was with. The boy she greatly, _greatly_ cared for. The boy that felt the same for her and wouldn't do anything to hurt her. The reminder made Trini grin and grab onto Jason's wrists. She felt his muscles flex all down his arms, doing his best to exert his strength over her. Wiggling beneath him, Trini lifted her legs and wrapped them around Jason's waist. With a show of strength, she pushed herself back into her mattress then sprang upwards, using her momentum and Jason's startled surprise, to roll the two over. Trini quickly subdued him and lifted her left leg, pressing her foot into his shoulder to hold him still while she used her hands to hold his above his head.

"Okay." Jason laid beneath her, pursing his lips in slight irritation. His eyes shone with mirth and pride. "Okay. I give. You win."

"Ha!" Trini's lips pulled back to show her teeth as she grinned, beautiful face lighting up with an even more beautiful smile. "I told you I could beat you!"

"Yeah, yeah. So, are you going to let me up or what?"

"Nope. You're my prisoner now," Trini said and did her own version of Rita's cackle, ending with her coughing horribly while Jason laughed beneath her. "Oh God, how does she do that all the time?"

"I don't know. But I'd definitely rather be your prisoner than hers," Jason pointed out.

Trini smiled, let out a quiet 'aww', and leaned forward to crush her lips against Jason's. She removed her hands from his wrists and placed them on his cheeks to hold him still. Jason responded by wrapping his arms around her waist, holding her tightly against him.

Trini knew there was a chance that her parents would get upset if they went to her room and caught them like that. At the moment, she didn't care.

* * *

Billy looked at his watch then leaned forward, lowering his chin to the marred wood of his desk. Years of chemical spills had burnt through the wood, causing pits and marks that he'd carefully covered over the years. The chemicals he was watching this time, he knew had a pretty good chance of messing up if he weren't careful. That was fine, he'd done enough work over the years that he had everything ready to clean up later.

With a sigh, he drummed his fingertips against the desk, sitting up straight as he continued to watch the bubbles in the beaker continue to burn. It was a simple procedure, really. Not one he had to watch so closely, but Kimberly was supposed to arrive at any time. He expected the bright pink of light to streak in from the ceiling as she teleported, any moment now. Though, if he were being completely honest, the chances of that happening were slim to none.

 _About one in 100,000,_ Billy thought, calculating the odds. It was a bit of a high number. A facetious answer. There was a zero percent chance of Kimberly showing up. She was too busy. Had to work hard on her gymnastics. The same thing she said when she said to cancel their other times to work together, the same thing she said in apology after falling asleep in study hall. Well, not the only one, she'd been spending more time in Ms. Appleby's office at lunch than with the others. If Billy were being honest, he hadn't seen Kimberly more than a few times within the last few weeks.

She was there in class, head up and focusing as hard as she could. Then, he could set his watch by it, her head would start to droop toward her desk or she'd start snoring quietly. A well-placed kick from Bulk to the back of her chair would shoot her awake, making Bulk and Skull laugh hysterically while Ms. Appleby did her best to get their attention back to the topic at hand.

"What's the matter, Kimmie?" Bulk would taunt. "Not getting enough sleep."

"Yeah, we've been spending a _lot_ of _time_ together," Skull would add with his obnoxious laugh. Kimberly, instead of shooting them a glare over her shoulder, rolling her eyes, curling her upper lip, or defending herself in any way that Kimberly would, merely lowered her gaze and stayed silent.

Billy watched her that day, watched closely. He noticed she'd gotten thinner. That much was obvious. Kimberly was a tiny girl, getting even smaller was noticeable. It made sense, he rationalized. She was doing a lot of exercise and slimmed down while putting on more muscle. That wasn't the part that worried him, it was how gaunt her cheeks were looking, the dark circles appearing under her eyes, noticed how pale she started to look.

He was smart enough to know something was going on, smart enough to know she was struggling. But wasn't sure how to let her know he was there to talk if she needed it. Kimberly was a talker, it was how she vented her emotions and thoughts. Some of his favorite moments with her was just sitting and listening as she talked about her problems. It made her see more real, not the varsity cheerleader that smiled all the time. He listened as she spoke about her father, her mother, their divorce, her family, her insecurities, hopes, and dreams. Listened as she worried if people only cared for her looks and not what she had in her head. And she listened as he spoke about his problems as well. He was straighter to the point, but she listened.

It was the least he could do to get some of their work finished and stick her name on it. Often, he hated to do the most work on a project and allow the other person to reap the benefits. This time around, he could let it slide.

"Still waiting on Kim?"

Billy looked up when Avalon stepped through the door of his lab, coming from the house into the garage. Billy nodded, focusing his attention back to the beaker. "Yeah, but she won't be here by the time this is finished. I can get the notes done then do the write-up. Maybe she can help me then. But…" he shook his head. "Right now, there's no chance she'd make it here."

"Hate to say it, Smurf, but I'm not really surprised," Avalon said slowly. She walked over to the desk and leaned against it, folding her arms. She stretched out her legs and crossed her ankles, angling her head to look at him. "She's blown me and Trini off to do some studying, Zack hasn't seen her around cheerleading practice—"

Billy made a face. "Cheerleading?"

A smirk pulled at Avalon's lips. "He hangs around trying to talk to Angela."

"Gotcha. I thought you meant he was joining the team or something." Billy rubbed his palms on the legs of his jeans. "I wouldn't put it past him."

"He's infatuated with her, it's cute," Avalon defended the black ranger with a light shrug.

"Never thought I'd hear you use the word 'cute', Ava," Billy said. He leaned back and looked up at her, doing a double-take when he noticed her attire. "Speaking of, is that my jersey?" Avalon grinned and held out her arms, revealing her wearing his football jersey. Rather than the home color of blue with white lettering, it was his away jersey of white with blue lettering, his number and last name written on the back.

"Yeah! I reckon I'd show you some support," Avalon said. She tucked her hair behind her ears and tugged at the knot she tied into the side of the jersey. "It's a big game for you guys, yeah?"

"Yeah," Billy agreed. His mouth was suddenly very dry, making it hard for him to swallow and lick his lips. "But, uh…" he wondered how to say it. What the implication it would bring. Not that he was _against_ it in any way, but…Funny. Normally he could hold his own, act normal, if not a little quieter than normal around him. But this was a different circumstance. Sort of…an upgrade. "It's more of a girlfriend thing," he pointed out. "For them to wear the jersey of the guy they're…seeing."

Avalon seemed not to understand what he was trying to say. Then her smirk widened and she said teasingly, "You were the one who said I looked cute, Smurf," making him blush and smile bashfully. Avalon reached out and gently pushed him on the shoulder, making him place his hand on hers as he stood up, pushing away the stool he sat upon. "And you're right, I do look cute."

"You should look up the word 'humble', Av."

"I think I'm fine just the way I am." Avalon grinned and squeezed his shoulder before dropping her hand to place her hands on her hips. She tilted her head to look up at him and Billy frowned, noticing some swelling that sat around her eyes. He only had a few guesses to where it came from. Avalon noticed and turned her gaze away when he reached up with his thumb to touch the skin around her eye. "If Kim had been around, I could hide it better," she remarked.

"You shouldn't have to hide it at all," Billy pointed out.

"Just like Kim shouldn't have to hide what's going on with her," Avalon added, swiftly changing the subject. She slid her hands into the back pockets of her orange jean shorts, showing off the fingerprint shaped bruises on the inside of her arms. Billy couldn't help but notice it. "Look, I get she's super busy and everything, but she's running herself ragged."

"Not like there's anything we can do about it," Billy said. "She's headstrong. She'll do everything she can to get what she wants. And she wants to be an Olympian." He twisted his mouth to the side. "I admire that."

"But," Avalon prompted.

Billy nodded, conceding there was more he had to say. "But…there is such a thing of working too hard. Sacrificing too much." He pressed his lips together, shifting his gaze to the ceiling as he fought to work out the best way to explain himself. When it came to science, math, and technology, that language was simple for him to understand, to explain. When it was his own feelings, things managed to become jumbled and indistinct. "I've seen Jason work himself to a tizzy just trying to beat Bulk's bench press record. I've seen Tommy work himself into burnout because he was working to win a martial arts tournament. I've seen Zack lead a double-life of working on dance and the football team all because his father doesn't think his dance will get him too far."

Once again, Billy licked his lips and looked Avalon in the eye, gaining strength with each word as he continued. "Trini decided to keep things quiet while the person she was supposed to be engaged to beat her up and…I've seen all the stuff you're going through. Even I've had many moments of putting myself into my work enough that I've become sick, putting everything by the wayside." A humorless chuckle escaped his lips. "Must be emulating my dad, since mom died he's done the same." Billy reached up a hand and ran it through his hair. "I don't want that for Kim."

"Neither do I."

"So we need to talk to her. Make her listen. Let her know we're concerned."

Avalon's eyebrows rose skeptically. "You mean, like stage an intervention?"

"Not an intervention, just let her know our concerns." Now Billy was frustrated. "It's one thing to throw ourselves into our ranger duties but—"

"—But if it's something that has to do with our own lives, it doesn't hold up?"

Then a frustrated snort escaped his lips. His placed his hands on his hips and narrowed his eyes towards the orange ranger. "That's not what I'm saying."

"It sort of sounded like it, mate." Avalon mimicked his stance, lifting an eyebrow. She let out a low breath and was silent for a moment. Then she took in a breath and said, "Being a ranger, we know our responsibilities and how important it is. That's why, when this came around, we told Pinkerbell we could handle things without her. It's her dream to do this, yeah?" Billy nodded, understanding her words, reminding him that Kimberly wasn't just blowing them off. "I wouldn't want to take that away from her but I do understand your concern. I've noticed some things, too…I just don't want you to obsess."

"I'm not going to obsess."

"You're a lot like her, y'know? She obsesses over clothing and shoes and shopping. You obsess over your work and…how people work." Billy eyed her carefully. He'd never thought about it that way before. "Kim's going to be okay." She nodded to the beaker that continued to bubble on the desk, but had slowed down since he'd started it. "You've got enough time to get that done before you have to get to the game.

Billy suddenly didn't feel like playing as much as he wanted to before. It was exciting; a big game against Lurray that would get them in pretty good standing for the championship. Funny how his mind could switch so easily like that. From worrying about his friend to worrying about a game.

Avalon's eyes flickered. "A little nervous?'

"Yeah," Billy admitted. He let out a long breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "I can use all the luck I can get." He wasn't just talking about the game.

Avalon then surprised him by grasping his face in her hands with the utmost tenderness that, now that he thought about it, was only seen when she was around him and her sister. Avalon's eyes searched his as she said, "You're going to be great," before pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek. "I know it."

Billy smiled back.

* * *

Zack grinned as he burst out onto the field with the rest of the Angel Grove High football team. The stands were packed with students from his school and Lurray, screaming and cheering for their teams as they got ready for the opening kick-off. Zack held his helmet under his arm as he jogged along with his friends to the player's bench. These were the days he dreamed for. Sure, he wished it was for a dance routine but for football, it was almost as good.

He could see his mother and father in the stands, shouting for him. That surprised him. They couldn't always get to his games and when he was playing and when they did, it was amazing. Then his gaze shifted through the crowd. He could see Trini, Avalon, Bailey, and Fred sitting together—well, standing and cheering as loudly as they could over the others.

"Zack! Zack!"

Zack lifted his hand and grinned, waving his hand towards the crowd, his cheering fans.

"Zack!"

Okay, that voice was closer.

Turning around, Zack busted out a grin when Angela approached him, moving at a quick speed. "What's up, Angel?" He asked. "Coming to wish a football player some good luck?" He turned his head and tapped his cheek. "Maybe a good luck kiss or something?"

"Get real." Angela grabbed his head and turned him back to face her. Zack's smile faded. She was serious. "Where's Kimberly?"

"What do you mean?" Zack's eyebrows furrowed together. He looked over the cheerleaders that bounced around behind her. Normally, he would be just as excited to watch them, but now he felt concern. He didn't see the pink ranger anywhere. "She's supposed to be here." Was she? He didn't remember Tommy saying anything about her not going. Then again, he didn't remember Tommy saying anything about her _not_ showing.

"I _know_ she's supposed to be here," Angela insisted. " _Why_ is she not here? She hasn't been to practices in _weeks_!"

"What?" Now that confused him. Zack had seen her with her cheerleading outfits and practice clothes, slipping into the gym all the time after school. How could she not be going? "No, I've seen her—"

"Then explain to me why we're one cheerleader short for our pyramid, and all our formations? We have to change everything." Frowning, Angela crossed her arms. "Today's game isn't just big for you, Zack. It's big for us, too. To show what we can do before our competitions."

"Uh…" Zack shook his head, trying to think past his disappointment. It was the second game she was missing. Or was it the third? Fourth? He wasn't quite sure other than knowing she hadn't been around. "I'm sorry, Ange. I don't know where she is."

Angela's voice softened, but still loud enough to be heard over the throbbing sounds of the marching band. "I know she's your friend, Zack. It's why I asked you. She hasn't been around much and when she is, she's yawning, really slow…is everything okay with her?"

Zack wondered the same thing. "I'm sure everything's fine. She's just working hard." He heard a loud purp of a whistle and glanced over his shoulder to see his coach getting the team together. The game as going to start soon. "I'll keep an eye out for her, okay?"

"Okay, and Zack?" Angela squeezed his hand. "Let me know anything you find out?"

"I will. I promise."

"Good. Now go play a great game."

Zack smiled and nodded before jogging back to the bench. He slowed down, allowing himself to look around the bleachers once more. The empty seat next to Trini was more obvious than the crowd cheering for them.

It hurt more than he thought it would.

* * *

 **A/N:** This chapter was supposed to be up a few days ago, but I've I been working a lot (I get asked to cover for my co-workers nearly every day) and have been working to catch up on my sleep. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the update and I'll update _Powerless II_ and _Headstrong_ next.

I've been focusing on this a bit as I've been trying to finish stories on my other FFN account to free up more time here.

 **~Av**


	13. She Cried

**Two Months Ago**

* * *

 _76…77…78…79…80…_

Kimberly closed her eyes, the muscles in her lower stomach burning with the effort of her one hundred push-ups. As she moved back and forth along the floor, her eye drifted to the clock. 5:50 AM. Had she really been at it for an hour already? Wow, time really flew when she was hard at work. It took ten minutes to finish the rest of them, Kimberly tried to focus on anything but the pain.

Then her mind wandered elsewhere. To the other forbidden topic. How upset her friends were. They didn't say it, but she knew it. She'd hurried to the football game as fast as she could, coming far past when it was over. She'd pulled her car into the nearest parking space she could find and flew out. It didn't take long for her to find her friends. They piled around Billy's truck, sitting in the hatchback and leaning against the car, talking and laughing animatedly about the game. Kimberly slowed as she moved towards them, her eyebrows coming together.

They looked so happy. Zack had his arm around Angela and she seemed to be as into him as he was into her. Jason and Trini looked like the All-American couple with her dressed in his letterman jacket and the two holding hands as they leaned against each other. Bailey and Fred had their faces painted in the school colors while holding onto bags of popcorn and cups of soda. Avalon was wearing Billy's football jersey knotted to the side—Kimberly smiled at that, knowing how big it was on her—and seemed to be standing very close with him. And…was that…? Kimberly's eyes narrowed as she focused on the group before her. Kat was with them as well. She was saying something to Tommy that made him and the others burst out laughing while nodding earnestly as she went on.

Kimberly felt something, rumble through her gut. Guilt. Anger. Frustration. Jealousy? That was it. She was jealous. Jealous they had all that time to hang out, without her and didn't seem to mind she wasn't there. She stopped in her tracks, biting her lower lip. Maybe it was a bad idea to show up. Maybe she should just leave.

But Trini noticed her and waved enthusiastically.

All eyes turned her way, smiles still on her friends' faces. But she could see they weren't as happy to see her. Kimberly waved back and trotted over, telling herself with each step that everything was okay. "Hey," she greeted them. "You guys all look happy. H-how was the game?" Why was she so nervous? They were her best friends.

"They won!" Angela declared, pumping her pom-pom. "It was a major upset; the other team didn't even stand a chance."

"And it was all thanks to our quarterback of course," Jason added, patting Tommy on the shoulder. The white ranger blushed and lowered his chin. "Don't be embarrassed, bro. You did an amazing job today. You should've seen it, Kim. You would've been proud." Trini elbowed him in the side and Jason winced, rubbing the wound.

Kimberly gave Trini a grateful smile before gently shaking her head. "I know I'm late. I know I've missed everything. But I'm so glad you guys won! It sounded like a good game."

"One of the best," Billy said diplomatically. He was never one to rub things in, but he also wasn't one to lie very often to spare someone else's feelings. It was something Kimberly really liked about him for the most part, that he was always so honest. At that moment, however, she wanted nothing more than to smack him for furthering her guilt. "I don't think we've ever played better."

"It wasn't just me," Tommy said quickly. "I really had to trust Jason, Billy, and Zack to be there on my plays. It was a team effort."

"We wish you could've been here," Kat finally spoke up, smiling gently at the pink ranger. "It would've been a lot of fun."

Kimberly's expression immediately wilted into a frown. A glare. She could feel the wrinkles coming together in her forehead, her mother had warned her against it for years. Now, she didn't care. She folded her arms and asked, "I know it would've been a lot of fun. I would've been here if I could."

Her sudden change in demeanor made her friends exchange worried glances. Confused, Kat took a step away from the pink ranger. "I didn't mean anything by it, Kimberly. Just that we missed you."

"And how do you know my friends anyway? You only met them once! And that was when your car broke down. What are you doing here?"

Tommy took a step forward and grabbed his girlfriend's arm. His eyebrows were lowered in frustration. She could see it in his face no matter how composed he tried to keep himself. "She wanted to see a football game at the school she's going to be attending. What's the matter with that?" He asked.

Pursing her lips, Kimberly said, "The matter is—"

"-You were the one who introduced us to her," Tommy continued, as if Kimberly hadn't said anything. Then he said the thing that made everyone else look away in discomfort. "At least she showed up." Kimberly felt her heart break with those words. She looked at her friends and back to Tommy. He looked back at her then lowered his chin, looking up at her through his eyelashes. She knew that look well, he felt just as bad for snapping at her.

Kimberly's heart broke even further. He was _so_ nice, and she was being so…bitchy to him. "I'm sorry," Kimberly said quickly. "I just…I really wanted to see you play."

"I know," he murmured. "I wanted to see you, too."

"We were just going to get something to eat," Avalon said, her voice rising over the stunned silence. "Then bring it back to Billy's for movie night." Her eyes shifted over Kimberly for a moment, making the pink ranger suddenly feel very self-conscious. "I reckon if you're here you didn't need to be anywhere else, yeah?"

Kimberly smiled. "Yeah. I don't need to be anywhere else, let's go." She felt relieved, they still wanted her around. They were still her friends. She pointed over her shoulder towards her car. "I can drive someone…if you need the space."

"We'll go with you," Fred said quickly. He leaned towards Kimberly and lowered his voice to say, "Av's driving back and I don't want to be in the car with her." Beside him, Bailey nodded. Kimberly laughed. She was short, but Avalon was a bit shorter than her, making her sit on a phone book to sit high enough to drive. That combined with the height of Billy's truck made her a force to be reckoned with on the road. Kimberly definitely understood.

"I'm going to drive Kat back home, then meet you guys over there," Tommy said abruptly. A little too quickly? Kimberly blinked in surprise as Tommy turned on his heel and walked with Kat towards his car. Then she smiled and led Fred and Bailey to her car to drive them. The rest of movie night had been fun but…Tommy only put his arm around her. He didn't kiss her, didn't hug her, didn't move closer to cuddle.

Nothing.

 _Stop thinking about it!_ Kimberly squeezed her eyes shut, shook her head. _That was last week._ She let out a long breath and stretched out to the floor, leaving her arms above her head. She stared at the ceiling, working hard to catch her breath. Every few minutes she would hold her breath as long as she could before slowly releasing it. The last thing she needed was for her mother to realize how much she was working out. There were some things her mother would understand and others she didn't. This was definitely one she didn't.

Kimberly rolled to her feet, wincing when she felt a sharp pain dig through her ankle. She stepped lightly to her desk and opened her journal to look through the page for that day. The checklist she'd made. Kimberly tapped her finger against each point as she went.

 _Get rid of last night's dinner._ That was done as soon as she woke up. She'd fallen asleep while studying the night before and didn't remember if she'd done so. So to make sure, she'd woken up early and immediately went to the toilet to dispose of it. It wasn't so bad, she woke up early every day anyway. And she'd gotten used to the feeling of the walls of her stomach slamming together, got used to the way the stomach acid burned her throat if she pushed a little too far.

 _Do 100 push-ups._ Check.

 _Do 100 jumping jacks._ Check. She had to do that one _very_ carefully. The sound of rhythmic thudding would've gotten her mother's attention. And not just because she was working out. Because of the other, obvious, reason for that sound. Kimberly sighed, puffing up her cheeks. Of course she couldn't do much to think about Tommy. He was always on her mind. She hoped he'd forgive her. Things were still tense between them.

 _Stretch for twenty minutes._ Check.

 _Do 100 sit-ups._ Check.

Kimberly lifted her pen and scribbled a few notes down about how she was feeling and what had been going on lately. Then she looked at the time once more and headed to her closet to get her sweatshirt to slide on over her workout clothes. I was time to get to practice. Kimberly hurried down to the kitchen, stopping in the doorway when she spotted her mother already awake, pouring herself a cup of coffee. Normally, Kimberly had breakfast by herself. Her mother slept in so Kimberly didn't have to excuse why she wasn't eating much. But now…

 _You can do this,_ Kimberly reminded herself. _This is what you need to do to be an Olympian._ Kimberly rolled back her shoulders and greeted her mother with as bright of a smile she could muster while heading straight for the refrigerator.

"Good morning, sweetie." Ms. Hart smiled at her daughter. She put the coffee pot back on the burner and turned to face her daughter. Her smile immediately faded when she saw the water bottle Kimberly was screwing the cap on. Ms. Hart lifted an eyebrow. "Is that all you're having?"

Kimberly's smile never waned. "Breakfast of champions," she trilled.

"How about a waffle?" Ms. Hart put her coffee down and started towards the freezer.

"Um." Kimberly pressed her lips together. She wanted nothing more than a waffle smeared with butter and warm maple syrup, but knew she had to stay firm. Her diet was working. She hadn't improved in her gymnastics so fast. "Maybe just one?" She had to appease her mother some way. She was starting to ask questions; do you really need to work so much? Do you really need to work so hard? Haven't you already had practice today? Is that all you're eating? Are you okay? You look a little tired.

Ms. Hart turned towards her daughter, hand still resting on the freezer door, and fixed her with a hard stare. "No. Two. You need it for energy."

"Okay," Kimberly said meekly. "Two's fine." And she held the waffles tightly in her hand while she walked out the front door and to her car once then were piping hot. She turned back and waved to her mother before sliding inside and peeled away from the curb as fast as she could. Once her house was a tiny dot in her rearview mirror, Kimberly rolled down the window and threw the waffles out as hard as she could.

The moment they were gone and she rolled the window back up, Kimberly let out a breath of relief, feeling her tense muscles relax. She was starting to become tense now, too. Around food. She'd only realized it when she was at school, tearing her bites into tiny pieces, forcing a few down her throat so no one would notice. Pushed it around her plate. She didn't relax until the school bell rang, signaling her safe for another little while. And yet, while in class, she was unable to keep her mind off food. Her stomach would start to grumble, giving her cravings for what she'd not eaten and threw away.

She took her mind off it by counting calories. With a tiny book tucked inside her textbooks in class, Kimberly focused hard on the food she had managed to eat that day or the day before, counted how many calories she'd managed to eat and how much she'd burned. She always burned more than she ate, it made her smile, seeing how the numbers would move lower and lower. She was losing the fat, losing the weight, and it was all going to be worth it once she got the news she was going to the Olympics.

Arriving at practice, Kimberly hurried out of the car, slinging her gym bag over her shoulder. She winced again, the moment she put all her weight on the ground. Her ankle was killing her. It took everything in her not to limp as she went into the gym, a sharp stab of pain striking her with each step. Still, she gritted her teeth and forced herself through every flip, rotate, and turned as practice went by. All until Coach Schmidt came by to watch her on the balance beam. He expected so much of her, she wanted to do so well that he rattled her and she could hardly stay on the beam.

The second time Kimberly slipped off, she hunched her shoulders to her ears, knowing what he was going to say. Coach Schmidt stared at her, his eyes narrowed as he said, "Come on, Kimberly, you can do this. Nail this routine for Invitationals and by trials, you'll own it."

Kimberly nodded and started to climb back up on the beam. No go. Her ankle practically gave out, making her squeal, "Ow," and bring her foot back to the ground. Nevertheless, she tried to get back up. Coach Schmidt immediately grabbed her arm in a grip so forceful that Kimberly froze in place. Not even Goldar or Rito had grabbed her like that and she froze. But Coach Schmidt wasn't a monster. He was a man, someone who was able to see more of the real her than any monster, Rita, Zedd, Zordon, or Alpha could. He was seeing right through her and her pain.

"Wait!" He said gruffly then turned and shouted across the gym, "Janice! Some Cortizone for Kim's ankle!"

And the next thing Kimberly knew, she was sitting in the medical office, her knee pulled up to her chest and watching Janice Bearman, the team's physician, prepared a syringe filled with cortisone. She winced, watching as the needles leaked a few drops of liquid. "Is it going to hurt?" She asked. Kimberly _hated_ needles as much as she hated the monsters that attacked the city.

"Just a little," Janice said. "But the most important thing for you to know is that this isn't' going to fix your ankle." She leveled her gaze at Kimberly and the pink ranger did her best not to roll her eyes. Great. Another lecture. Why was it that everyone was trying to lecture her about everything all the time? Couldn't they see she was okay? She was just fine. "Kimberly, all of this has a price. And sometimes you don't know what the price is until it's too late, so you really need to know if this is worth it to you."

"Oh, it is," Kimberly said readily. How many more times was she going to hear this? How many more times would she have to explain how badly she wanted to be an Olympian. Why weren't people getting it? "I can only think about invitationals, then it's divisional, then trials…it's like…I want it so bad." She heard the emotion in her voice then shrugged to downplay it. "I just want to keep going, you know?"

"Yeah, I do," Janice smiled warmly, making Kimberly relax. "Just be careful, okay."

"Okay." Kimberly said. Then she squeezed her eyes shut when she felt the needle go into her ankle. "Ow." Janice's smile widened and she grabbed a roll of tape and held Kimberly's foot and ankle firmly to wrap her up. When she was finished, she patted Kimberly on the knee and gave her a look that Kimberly couldn't quite place before leaving.

Once alone, Kimberly hopped down from the examining table and gently placed her foot on the ground. She let out a sigh of relief, her shoulders slumping as well. She smiled her first real smile in weeks.

"Looks like Coach was really riding you today," Olivia said, making Kimberly look up and turn her radiant smile to her. Olivia leaned against the doorway to the room, watching the pink ranger. "Sort of pushing you to your limit?"

Kimberly nodded in response to Olivia's first statement, pressing her fingers into the tape wrapped around her ankle, making sure it was put firmly in place. She rolled her ankle, nodded, feeling the pain fade away as quickly as water running down a drain. "Not really. He just said I need to nail my routines for invitationals then I can start working on my stuff for trials."

"Trials?" Olivia's eyebrows rose. Her lower jaw shifted to the side, anger suddenly flashing through her eyes. She folded her arms. "He's got you thinking about that already?"

Kimberly nodded earnestly, pulled her pigtails behind her ears. "Yeah, isn't it cool?"

Suddenly, Olivia's face went cold. Her eyes continued to flash. Her words were clipped as she said, "You know, Kim, I wouldn't start making room in my trophy case just yet." Kimberly looked up at her, eyebrows coming together. "He does say that to all the new girls. It gets them hooked."

With that, Olivia flounced out of the room.

Kimberly watched her leave then sighed, slumping against the examining table.

Her foot didn't hurt, but Olivia's words sure did.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Kimberly went to the park to get an afternoon run in and ran into Tommy and Bailey along the way. Tommy came to a stop and smiled at her, placing his hands on his hips as he did so. "Hey Beautiful, what are you doing here?'

Kimberly smiled. Things were still okay between them. He called her Beautiful. It was a good sign. Kimberly pushed her sleeves up, pulled her hair behind her shoulders. Funny how she could be completely covered in sweat and he could still make her feel so beautiful. "I was just getting a run in," she said.

"So were we," Bailey agreed, motioning between herself and Tommy. "Av would've come along but she's helping Billy in the lab with our weapons."

Kimberly felt a pang of jealousy. Sometimes she wanted nothing more than to help with rangering, they'd been doing a lot lately. "Really? What's been going on?" She asked.

Tommy shrugged. "They got damaged in one of our fights against Rito. He used his energy blast to keep us from using our weapons. Our blasters and Power weapons got caught up and Billy need to do a lot of work on it to be fixed."

"It shouldn't take too long with Av helping," Kimberly said, doing her best to keep a wry smile from coming to her face. She hadn't been around much but could at least see how close the two were becoming over the last few days while at school. She needed to remember to talk to Billy about it. If not them, Trini or Zack, they'd know for sure.

"Do you want to run with us?" Bailey asked, grasping Kimberly's attention. "We were almost done."

"Yeah, we're going to get something to eat after," Tommy added. He grasped Kimberly's hand and started to jog down the road, taking her with him. Kimberly giggled and increased her pace, doing her best not to trip over her feet. Bailey moved to her other side, keeping Kimberly squished in the middle.

For ten minutes they continued to run along, Kimberly keeping her hand enclosed around Tommy's. It was a bit awkward, but neither of them complained. The sleeves of Kimberly's sweatshirt continued to fall down towards her wrists. Tommy glanced down at her. "Geez, aren't you hot in that thing?" He asked as the jogged along the concrete path in the park.

Kimberly glanced down at the sweatshirt she swam in. Sweat poured like bullets down her entire body. She was burning up, but it was what she needed to do. To shed those last few pounds. "No, I'm fine," She said quickly.

"When did you get so into jogging anyway?" Bailey asked, hardly out of breath as they went along. She turned and flashed her adoptive brother a teasing smile. "I reckon, Tommy can barely keep up with you, yeah?"

A laugh escaped Kimberly's lips. She reached out and swatted Bailey on the arm. "Maybe he's just not in good shape."

"Oh, is that so?" Tommy reached out and poked Kimberly's side.

Kimberly immediately backed away from him. No. He couldn't touch her. Not there. Not when she still had her disgusting, flabby love handles flopping all over the place. It was the last part of her body she needed to lose weight from. The last part that she needed to shed so she could be perfect. Have the perfect body. Anger flooded through her. How dare he point it out to her like that.

"Stop it!" She snapped.

Tommy backed away in surprise, Bailey immediately coming to a stop, her eyes widening behind her glasses. Her cry had been louder, harsher than she intended. Kimberly closed her mouth and looked away as Tommy held up his hands and backed away from Kimberly, lest she start lashing out at him with her fists. And she could punch hard. "Sorry," he apologized. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Kimberly said quickly. "Sorry. I guess I'm just tired. Um, let's just go eat, okay?"

Tommy and Bailey exchanged glances but nodded. They finished their jog through the rest of the park, at a slower pace, changing the subject to Bailey's excitement over having watched the football game and how she couldn't wait to be in high school to experience it all first hand. Kimberly gritted her teeth as she listened to it. _Great, another reminder of how I keep missing everything._

Her irritation continued to stew through her when they went to the Youth Center to get some food. Tommy and Bailey both ordered the chicken wraps while Kimberly ordered a light salad and some water.

"You don't want any of my famous smoothie?" Ernie asked as he punched in their order to pay. "It's your favorite? I can never remember a time where you didn't order one."

Kimberly smiled warmly at him. He was one of the few that wasn't getting to her lately. Maybe because he didn't see her every day. "Not this time, Ernie. Water's fine." She loved his smoothies, but he had no idea how much sugar was in them. Or maybe he did, Kimberly realized, her eyes roving over his larger, rotund body. As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she turned away, ashamed at having thought it at all, and scurried to the nearest table, pressing her hand to her forehead to hide her eyes. Pain swelled in her chest, keeping her on the verge of tears while Tommy led Bailey to the practice floor to work on some martial arts.

A smile came to Kimberly's face as she watched the two. Tommy was the one who did everything he could to get better at martial arts. Even practicing in the hallways at school. Why was no one getting on him with what he was doing? Then again, she mused, he did a lot of work to teach others, no matter how individual the sport was. Bailey and Fred looked up to him to learn from him as much as they could. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe Kimberly was being selfish.

When the food came, it was a welcome distraction. Neither Tommy nor Bailey noticed Kimberly cut up the pieces of lettuce in her salad to smaller pieces and pushed it around while they tore through their wraps with ease. After Kimberly ate enough bites to get towards her caloric goal for the day and pushed her plate aside.

Bailey's eyes scrunched behind her glasses. "is that all you're eating?" She asked.

"Yeah," Kimberly said breezily. "We just went jogging, isn't that kind of the point?"

"No, not when you haven't eaten all day," Tommy pointed out, watching intently as Kimberly took a long sip of water. He exchanged a glance with Bailey and, frowning, Kimberly slammed her water to the table, making some slosh over the side of the cup.

"What?" She snapped, anger returning in a hot wave.

"Just have some of my fries," Bailey offered, pushing her plate forward. The purple ranger rolled her eyes. "If Av were here I'd reckon it'd already be gone."

Kimberly's nose wrinkled. Grease spotted the plate where the fries sat. Fries covered in salt and pepper and ketchup. Things that'd make her fat in a hurry. "Ew." She shook her head. "No."

"Are you sure?" Tommy picked up his own fry and waved it under her nose. "It's good."

Kimberly slapped his hand away and smacked her palm against the table. "Yes! I'm done eating!" She grabbed two handfuls of her sweatshirt. "And I'm going to leave my sweatshirt on and now I'm going to take a drink, okay?" She pulled it towards her so fast that even more water spilled out. "Are you fine with that?"

"Not when something's going on," Tommy said.

" _Nothing's_ going on!" Kimberly snapped. She leapt up and pushed back her seat. "I'm fine. Everything's fine. And I'd be glad if you stopped trying to butt into my life!" She looked back and forth between Tommy—who looked frustrated, and Bailey—who looked like she was about to cry. "I'll see you later, okay?" With that, Kimberly left the Youth Center at a light jog. The moment she made it outside, she looked around to be sure she was alone before teleporting back home.

It was faster than having to run back home. When she arrived, Kimberly closed her eyes and pressed he heels of her palms against her forehead. Her car. She completely forgot to get her car. Oh well, there was time to pick it up later. Kimberly started towards the house, glancing at the car in the driveway she didn't recognize. Maybe her mother had someone over.

Kimberly stepped into the house then paused, hearing her mother's voice. Her blood ran cold the second she heard the second done. Her father's.

"I can't believe you did this without telling me."

"I was going to tell you in person."

"Do you realize the pressure this puts on us now? On her? Have you even thought about Kim?"

"Of _course_ I've thought about her! It's not my fault she hasn't been returning my calls. I've tried to be there for her—"

"When were you there for her? At her last meet? You said you would go."

Kimberly made her way towards the sitting room on the left side of the house. She walked quietly, making sure her footsteps were light. Light enough so she could get close enough to hear. She poked her head around the doorway, spotted her parents standing a few feet apart, arms folded and each holding a scowl. Her father. He really was there. Kimberly swallowed hard. He was there. But not to see her.

"Something came up," Mr. Hart defended himself gruffly.

"Something _always_ comes up with you," Ms. Hart reminded him. Mr. Hart rolled his eyes and turned away. Kimberly darted back behind the doorframe, not wanting to be seen. Not yet. "Things were fine when it was just you and me, when it was only affecting you and me. But Kim—"

"Things are going to be fine."

" _How?_ By taking money from us? Out of her college fund?"

"Listen, she's going to knock them out at the invitationals. She's going to get a scholarship out of this, I know it!"

Tears came to Kimberly's eyes. She couldn't take it anymore. Couldn't hear anymore. She had to get away. Kimberly raced towards the stairs, ready to get to her room and slam the door. She spotted the kitchen first. Before Kimberly could stop herself, she went inside and hurried to the sink. Grabbing a glass, she filled it with water and gulped it down. Then filled another glass. Again and again. She continued to drink, using one hand to pour it down, the other pressed against her stomach. Stuffed, Kimberly turned around, eyes landing on the refrigerator.

Kimberly dove inside, grabbing as many jars and plates as she could. Piling it on the counter. Stuffing whatever food they held into her mouth. One handful after the other. Her breaths came out in gasps as she continued to eat. Desperate to eat. She ate and ate, spreading crumbs and tin pieces of food onto the counter. When she was done, she dragged her hand against her mouth and stared at her fingers.

Stared at the bits of food that stuck to her finger tips and palms. Then she was running again, running ot the bathroom. She slammed the door shut and fell in front of the toilet, lifted the lid, shoved her finger down her throat, and threw it all back up into the toilet. With one pale, shaking hand, she repeatedly flushed the toilet, erasing the evidence of her practice, the other repeatedly stabbing at her throat. And she kept throwing up until everything was gone and she threw up stomach acid.

The acrid liquid burned her throat, making her immediately recoil. She wiped off her mouth with some toilet paper and backed away from the toilet. Scurried away from it until she was leaning against the wall behind her.

Then the tears came, long and hard, wracking her body with sobs.

She cried and cried until she fell asleep on the bathroom floor.

* * *

 **A/N:** Poor poor, Kim. Thins just keep getting worse for her. Thanks for the continued support. I hope you enjoyed this one. More with Tommy in the next one. I'll be updating _Headstrong_ next.

 **~Av**


	14. She Froze

**One Month Ago**

* * *

"We need Thundermegazord power, now!"

"Stegosaurus, Bifang*, Thunderzord power!"

"Mastodon, Lion, Thunderzord power!"

"Pteradactyl, Firebird, Thunderzord power!"

"Triceratops, Unicorn, Thunderzord power!"

"Sabertooth Tiger, Gryffon, Thunderzord power!"

"Tyrannosaurus, Red Dragon, Thunderzord power!"

"Tigerzord, power up!"

Kimberly reached out and grabbed the control column of her Firebird Thunderzord and flew it into position to combined with the Thundermegazord. She pulled hard at the controls, arms shaking with effort as the zord rocked back and forth. She frowned. Normally, her flying the zord was as easy as breathing. A 1-2-3 procedure that hardly made her break a sweat. Now she was sweating buckets while straining her muscles to hold it in place. Finally, she relaxed as the Firebird zord moved into place and her seat shifted backwards, propelling herself through the zord to line up with the others.

"You ready?" Jason asked her once she arrived.

Kimberly nodded back. She tried to focus on the fight as hard as she could, simultaneously staving off the exhaustion that washed over her in waves. Her body fought for her to slump over the control panels but she used everything to keep herself upright against the thrashing the Thundermegazord took, knocking her around while the others held still.

 _Come on Kim, you can do this,_ Kimberly thought, gritting her teeth. The fight was over after a few minutes of back and forth, until they executed a plan Billy had been working on for days. The monster didn't see it coming. Kimberly slumped in relief as she watched it explode in a fiery ball, knowing they were moments away from being able to rest.

"Great job you guys," Jason said with a nod. "Let's get back to the Command Center." The same thing he said after every battle where they would be debriefed over everything that had worked, and things they needed to improve on.

The moment they landed in the Command Center, Kimberly fell to her knees, gasping for air. Her entire body ached, much more than it should. Ever since receiving her powers, anything that managed to attack them, any pain she would've normally felt when having fallen would've been nothing but a simple brush. No. She _hurt._

"Ay yi yi yi yi." Alpha waddled over and patted her shoulder. "What happened, Kimberly?"

"Kim." She felt Trini's hand on her back. "Are you okay?"

"Get her a chair," Jason added.

Kimberly shook her head, swallowed hard. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping the world would stop spinning around her. "I'm fine," She said. "I'm just worn out. Competition is tomorrow, we're working really hard." She sat back on her heels, pressing her palms to her forehead before smoothing her hands over her hair. "One it's over I can get some more sleep."

"Not unless you win," Avalon pointed out. "Then you'll be training even harder."

"If I have to," Kimberly gasped. Finally, everything stopped spinning and she, shakily, got to her feet. She looked around at her friends and up to Zordon, who was gazing at her with the sort of concern that only a father could. Zordon had grown to be more than just their mentor over the years, she should've known she couldn't really hide things from them. "Guys, I'm fine!" She insisted. "It's just like riding a bike, you get right back on. This fight just wore me out." She waved her hand. "The putties were really vicious this time."

"Yeah, if you think,"—Zack spastically wiggled his arms and jumped up and down, throwing in a few squats for extra measure—"is vicious! Those putties are always going to be nothing more than a distraction, come on now!" Jason glared at him and he lowered his head, pressing his lips together.

Jason turned back to Kimberly and folded his arms. "Look," he said gently. "We're just worried about you."

Kimberly mentally sighed. She tried not to roll her eyes. She knew this was coming. Everyone had been saying hat lately. Ms. Appleby nearly every day. She wasn't falling asleep in class anymore, but her grades weren't as stellar as they'd been before. Ms. Appleby was confused. As far as she knew, Kimberly showed up to work with Billy whenever they were in study hall to work on their homework, and yet her grades continued to slide. Her other teachers were starting to ask about her grades as well, Kimberly got them off her trail by flashing a warm smile and letting them know she'd work on it.

She intercepted phone calls home to her mother, tore up the letters the school sent about her grades, did everything to pretend everything was okay. She should've guessed her friends wouldn't have fallen for the same tricks. But she could still push them off the trail.

"You don't have to be," Kimberly insisted, putting as much warmth into her voice as she could. "You guys, we just defeated another one of Rita's and Zedd's monsters. We won! Shouldn't we be celebrating that!"

"Kim, this is the first time in weeks, almost months that you've been in a fight with us," Tommy explained. "These guys are getting harder and harder to defeat—"

"—And we still beat them." She mimicked Jason's stance, folding her arms. She lifted an eyebrow and looked around at her friends. "Let me guess, you've all been talking about this," She said. "Talking about me."

"We're just—"

"Worried! I know! I heard you the first time!" She huffed and turned her back on her friends. "I can't believe this. How long have you guys been talking about me behind me back? What else have you been doing? Making fun of me?"

Bailey looked hurt. "What's there to make fun of?" She asked. "Kim, we know something's wrong with you. You've been acting crazy for months, yeah?"

Kimberly whipped back around, her eyes flashing with a blazing fury they'd only seen a few times before. Against the monsters attacking their city. "Oh, so now I'm crazy?" The purple ranger gasped and took a step back from the orange ranger.

Tommy finally spoke up, his tone matching hers. "Crazy for the way you've been treating everyone? Yes! Kim, you've been at our throats for weeks now. Every time we say something you don't want to hear you fly off the deep end!" He waved his hand towards her. "I can't say anything about your constant practices, or your sleeping all the time, or even mention getting a bite of food without you having a heart attack about it." He lowered his voice, noticing the way Kimberly's chin started to tremble. "Kim, we know you're not eating."

Kimberly let out a low gasp. Her jaw dropped. How'd they…? She was being so careful. No. They didn't know what they were talking about. She was eating just fine. They'd seen her. "I eat plenty, thank you! I eat before I go to practice, I eat when I get to school, I have lunch with you guys every day!"

"You have lunch with us, but you don't _eat_ with us," Trini said. Her hand dropped from Kimberly's back when the pink ranger stepped away from her. "You cut your bites into tiny pieces, but I haven't actually seen you eat anything in days now. Weeks."

"Yeah, you used to have as big a appetite as me," Zack added. "And that's saying something."

"What?" Kimberly sneered. "That I'm a pig? That I'm just one of Rita's and Zedd's monsters waiting to eat everything in sight?"

Zack's eyes widened in surprise. "No! That you're not being yourself." He took a step towards her. "Kim, you're one of my best friends. One of the best people I've known in my entire life. That's why it's so hard to see you like this!"

"Like what?"

Avalon then tried her hand at getting the pink ranger to understand. "Jesus, Kim! Even you know you've been acting differently. It's like we have to make an appointment to see you now." Avalon added. "You're constantly running off to practice or disappearing and we can't find you."

"That's funny coming from the girl who likes to run the streets!" Kimberly snapped back. Avalon closed her mouth, eyes darkening with anger. "How'd you get the bruise that time?" She motioned to the one poking out from the next of the orange ranger's t-shirt, resting on her collar bone. "Did you run into a wall?"

"Kim, you have to understand why we'd be upset," Billy said gently. He took a step forward, placed his hands on Bailey's shoulders. "We care about you. We're worried about you."

"We're your friends," Trini added.

Kimberly shook her head. "Some friends you are." She lifted the hand that held her communicator and teleported out of the Command Center.

* * *

"Hey Tommy, it's Kim," Kimberly mumbled into the phone. She sighed, hearing the sound of his answering machine recording her message. Was he ignoring her? "I'm so sorry. You haven't done anything worng. I just want to talk to you right now, it's driving me crazy. I just wanted to say I'm really sorry about everything. I've just been really tired lately. I don't even know what day it is or what time it is or what I'm talking about right now. Listen Tommy, I know this is really unfair for me to ask but I was wondering if you're going to be there for my mete. It's kind of important and I miss you. I miss us."

Tears suddenly came to Kimberly's eyes. "What happened to us, Tommy? Or, maybe its me? I don't know. I just…I have to go. Bye."

* * *

" _And on the beam, Shawna Carson."_

Kimberly looked around, watching as the Stone Canyon gymnast flew across the balance beam in a series of amazing stunts. She felt her stomach tremble once more, the same way it had once the team arrived in Los Angeles. It was time for the Invitationals and she _had_ to do well. It put her one step closer to the Olympics.

Rubbing her hands together, Kimberly's gaze shifted over the crowd. She rolled up onto the balls of her feet and shoved the sleeves of her team windbreaker up her arms. A low sigh escaped her lips and she lowered back to flatten her feet against the floor. Her mother waved at her, but she didn't see Tommy yet. Jason, Zack, and Trini all sat together. Billy was in the row below them, flipping back and forth through the program, while Avalon and Bailey went to the snack stand.

For a moment, Kimberly felt something squiggle through her stomach. She wasn't quite sure what it was. Happiness that her friends showed, disappointment that Tommy still wasn't there, and envy. Envy that her friends were in the stands watching and she was on the floor. It was like the distance between them and her was a chasm in a mountain, stretching wider and wider as the seconds passed.

"Are you trying to look for a way out?" Olivia giggled beside her, stretching out her hamstring.

"Looking for Tommy," Kimberly explained. She twisted her fingers. "He's still not here."

"If I were you, I'd focus more on your dismount. Not my boyfriend."

Kimberly gazed along the other side of the room where another balance beam routine was being done. One of their teammates was performing. Kimberly watched as sh slipped off the beam and glaned towards Coach Schmidt, who glared back at her, shaking his head. Abruptly, he turned away from her and stalked across the gym floor to Olivia and Kimberly, who immediately straightened to pay attention to what he had to say.

"Alright girls," he said. "You're in first and second place going into the last event." Kimberly's eyes shot towards the board resting in the corner of the gym. Her name sat just below Olivia's, _K. Hart._ With a score of 9.72 while Olivia sat at 9.80. She only needed a few points to get into first. She could do it. "This is the first step on the road to the Olympics. You know how hard we've worked for this." Both girls nodded, Olivia reached out and squeezed Kimberly's hand. Kimberly squeezed it back. "And you know what you have to do; you have to focus, have patience and commitment, so you can go out there and do whatever it takes. Now, I believe in both of you with all my heart, and you know you can do this. Okay?"

"Okay," Kimberly whispered in response. This was it. In only a few minutes she would be ready to go, ready to perform so she could take her spot at Divisionals.

"Good. Now you go and be winners." Coach Schmidt tapped their shoulders before hurrying away. Going to the spot that gave him a good vantage point of the competition. That gave him the best place to see each and every mistake they made. The mistakes he would make sure they knew about later.

Kimberly placed her hands on her hips and looked towards the stands once more. She chewed her lower lip and turned away as quickly as she looked. She couldn't focus on what was going on over there anymore. She needed to focus on…on…her growling stomach.

"Oh, I'm so hungry right now," She murmured. Olivia made a humming sound in reply. "Ugh, I can't get it to stop growling."

"Kim! I don't have time to be your babysitter right now!" Oliva snapped. "Get some water, go get yourself together!" With that snipe, Olivia turned on her heel and stormed away.

Kimberly watched her go. Stung. Olivia was supposed to be her friend. Wasn't she? Then her gaze shifted, and she focused on Tommy, watching as he bounded up the steps to the stands. Kimberly caught his eye and smiled, waved. Tommy smiled back but didn't wave. Kimberly slowly lowered her hand. He was there but…he didn't look happy to see her. Eyebrows coming together, she watched as Kat came up the steps behind him and the two slid into the row with her friends, all smiles. Kat sat down and placed her hand on Tommy's wrist, leaning forward to say something to him and Jason.

Affronted, Kimberly swallowed hard and put her game face on.

Olivia was right, she needed to focus. So, Kimberly watched as Olivia did her routine perfectly, nailing every hit. And when she was done, she raced to Coach Schmidt and threw her arms around him, grinning as wide as ever. Then it was her turn. Kimberly smiled and threw her hands into the air, then ran forward to spring off the bounce board. Then she was on the balance beam and, wrapped foot and all, went through the routine she practiced as long as she could remember, going through the movements as easily as she breathed. She ignored the pain in her foot, the ache in her muscles, and went through the motions.

She did a little hop, ran forward, and flipped off the beam. A perfect landing. She'd nailed it. And listening to the crowd cheer for her was all she needed. Then her heart started to pound against her chest, everything slanted, and Kimberly slowly fell to the practice mat below her. Catching herself on her hands and knees, Kimberly gasped for air. She could hear concerned murmurs around her. Turning her head, she saw her friends all standing up on the bleachers, along with the rest of the crowd, straining to see her.

Her eyes locked with Tommy's. He had a blank expression on his face as he looked back at her. Kat said something with a worried frown, making him put his hand on her shoulder. Kimberly's stomach rolled and she looked away. Seconds later, she was gasping for real when Coach Schmidt swept her up in his arms and screamed that she'd made it to the Divisionals.

What?

She'd made it?

All at once, Kimberly felt more energized than she'd ever had.

She made it!

* * *

Later that night, Tommy decided it was time to give Kimberly the chance to talk openly with him. He missed her. He didn't see her anymore. He cared about her so much, loved her. If there was anything going on, he had to tell her. He waited until her mother left and went to the door of her hotel room, knocking on the door.

He waited a few long moments then knocked again. Taking a step back, Tommy glanced at the darkened door, he could see a lamp on underneath. He was sure she was there. Then he smiled, hearing her voice call out as her footsteps raced to the door. Finally, it swung open and his gorgeous girlfriend stood in front of him. Or, what _used_ to be his gorgeous girlfriend. Tommy couldn't help but blink in surprise when he got a good look at her. She looked much thinner than usual, dark bags unable to be hidden by her the doorbell rang and Kimberly raced downstairs to grab it. Her cheeks were very hollow, her stomach more than flat, beneath her favorite pink and white crop top. He could see each of her ribs poking through the skin. Her hair was dull and lifeless. There was nothing in her that looked like the same, spunky girl he loved so much.

His heart ached for her. He just wanted her to be happy. But what was happiness when it was killing her? Slowly killing her. He could see it now. It was worse than any damage a monster or a putty could do to her. The thought alone broke his heart.

"Hey!" Kimberly greeted when she saw Tommy. Her eyes lit up, but nothing else did. Her body, which made her radiate a warm glow, practically collapsed against the doorframe as she gazed up at him.

"Hey." Tommy smiled back at her. He looked over her shoulder and asked, "Is your mom gone"

"Yeah, she left hours ago with some of the other moms from the team." Then she looked at him curiously. "What's up? I thought you had to get back to Angel Grove. Martial arts practice, remember?"

"Well." Tommy licked his lips, trying to keep his voice steady. "We haven't had much time to spend together and I know we're both really sorry and…I thought we could have a romantic night together." He pulled his hand out from behind his back, showing off a bouquet of flowers he had hidden. That part was real. He got her the flowers to cheer her up, to get a semblance of the Kimberly he knew. She loved flowers and gardening more than life itself, one of her favorite hobbies. It wasn't uncommon to find her with dirt all over her hands and knees when the weather was just right. "Besides, how can I pass up a night of hanging out in a hotel?"

"Ah! Tommy, this is so sweet!" Kimberly took the flowers and stood on her tip-toes, giving her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek. "I need to put them in water. Wow!" She turned them this way and that, a semblance of her inner warmth coming back. "This is so beautiful, it must've cost you a fortune."

"Not too much," Tommy said. It wouldn't cost more than what he was risking. "You're definitely worth it." Kimberly gave him another smile and leaned in to give him a proper kiss, finding herself blocked by a box of pizza he'd brought from behind his back as well. "I thought we could have a romantic, candle lit dinner together."

He didn't know where the night would lead, but if it went positively…

Kimberly's stomach dropped. Tommy could see the fear rise in her eyes, nearly choking her. Pizza. No way. That was just going to make her fat. All the cheese, the grease…she could dab that away with a napkin, but she couldn't dab away the calories. No, she couldn't have any. Kimberly's stomach growled and she smiled at Tommy, folding her arms across her stomach, grabbing her hips. Her jeans were a little looser than she remembered, nearly falling. Tommy followed her movement with his eyes, eyebrows furrowing together, noticing her belt tied so tightly around her waist it may not have been a belt at all.

Kimberly's words caught his attention. "So what is this? Did someone put you up to it? Did you lose a bet against Jason and Zack?"

A slight sense of irritation bubbled inside Tommy. "No, Kim, we just haven't been spending a lot of time together and I wanted to change that."

"Okay, come in." Kimberly stepped back and allowed her boyfriend inside. She brought the flowers to her nose and took in a deep breath before hurrying behind him. He went straight to the kitchen table to lay things out. "Let me just put these in water."

"No, no, no." Tommy grabbed her arm and propelled her into a seat. "I'm waiting on you, today." He took the flowers and set them in a nearby vase on the counter. Then he moved back to the table and started to unload paper plates from the box, leaning over to give her a kiss every few minutes. Passionate kisses, hungry kisses.

When he allowed himself to be pulled away, Kimberly watched, knowing her window of opportunity was slowly closing. She felt tension rise between them. As if, subconsciously, she knew what was going to happen, but had no way of stopping it. "Let me just get some napkins…" She started to get up, but Tommy forced her back down once more. Kimberly flashed him a smile without any warmth behind hit and crossed her legs at the knee. She sat on her hands, which started to shake.

"And here's some pizza for you," Tommy said, pushing her plate to her. "And for me."

Kimberly watched as he gathered drinks for them and even went so far as to light a candle for the middle of the table. It wasn't until he went to the sink to wash his hands that Kimberly made her move. With his back turned, she grabbed her slice of pizza and started to tear it into tiny pieces, putting some of it into her napkin. Tommy looked over his shoulder to smile at her and their eyes met. Kimberly froze, a pinch of pizza pressed between her fingertips. Tommy's eyebrows rose.

"What are you doing?" He asked, voice flat. His mouth went dry. It was just as he thought, just as their friends thought. He didn't believe it. But now here it was, staring him in the face. She was hurting herself and didn't even know it. _Or worse,_ he realized. _She does know what she's doing._

"Nothing," Kimberly replied quickly. Then her anger surged and her eyes flashed in warning. Tommy had seen that look many times before, but not directed towards him. "What? I can't tear my pizza up? I can't want a smaller portion? You know, you're really making me feel very guilty right now." She threw her pizza hard to her plate and stood up. "I'm not very hungry."

Unable to keep his composure much longer, Tommy rolled his eyes. He could feel himself going more into what he called his 'Green Ranger persona'. Rita's magic had worn off, but there were still moments where he held on the personality of the mind-controlled monster. The arrogant, sneering one. The angry one. "So if you're not hungry, you could've just said something. But you don't have to hide your food."

Kimberly's head jerked back in surprise at the sudden change in his tone. Or was it fear. She'd been terrified of the Green Ranger, she admitted to him. Knowing it was Tommy underneath, not knowing if Rita's control had been due to her taking him over completely, or if she'd just taken over his body movements.

Instead of becoming timid, Kimberly's fire burned brighter. "I'm not hiding anything, Tommy." With a disgusted sigh, she turned away from him, head shaking. "You so don't get this."

"Get what, Kim? Get that you've been acting like a psycho?" He demanded. "Get that you've been ditching your friends for weeks. Get that you're not yourself?" He threw his hands into the air. "You're right. I don't know what's going on. I don't." He firmly grabbed her shoulders. "I love you, and you're not talking to me! Lately, you've been—"

"I'm what?!" Kimberly viciously ripped from his grasp.

"I don't know."

"Well, why don't you ask Kat? I'm sure she has an idea of what you are!"

"Kat? What does she have to do with anything."

Kimberly let out a bark of laughter. One so sarcastic that neither of them recognized her. "Oh come on, Tommy, I saw you at the meet. I saw you with her! If you're going to cheat on me, could it have been with someone else."

Tommy stared at her for a long, tense moment. He licked his lips, sucked in a sharp breath. "You know, if you stopped being so self-centered for a second you'd realize that we're just friends. That I could never care about anyone else but you. That _you_ were the one who wanted all of us to be friends in the first place. We're not spending any more time together than I would with any of my other friends. You're the one who's gone!"

Kimberly immediately back down. She took a step back and lowered her chin, looking him in the eye. Another one of her mood swings. "I'm sorry, Tommy," Kimberly whispered, tears coming to her eyes. "I am. I love you and we're going to get through this, okay? You just have to help me through my training."

"Which training, Kim?" Tommy's hands clenched into fists, nails bruising his skin. "The training for Divisionals? Or the raining after that? Or the training after _that_?"

"A-are you saying you don't want to be with me?"

"No. I'm saying I _haven't_ been with you and it's not my fault."

A sniffle. Kimberly drew her arm across her nose, used the sides of her hands to wipe away her tears. "So you want me to give everything up?"

"No, of course not. Gymnastics is your life." For a moment, Kimberly was hopeful, then Tommy hit her with the bombshell. "But it's not mine. And constantly chasing after you, constantly being there for you when I get treated like crap in return isn't fair."

"Then just leave!" Kimberly snapped. She grabbed the bouquet of flowers and slammed it into Tommy's chest so hard he had to take a few steps back to keep from falling over. "Take everything and get out of here! Okay? I don't want to see you right now. I don't…I don't want to…" She turned and ran to the bathroom and stormed inside, slamming that door behind her as she went. She paced back and forth, running her hands through her hair.

Then Kimberly froze.

Slowly pulled her hands down.

Strands of her hair came with it, large pieces dropped to the floor.

* * *

 **A/N:** I changed Avalon's thunderzord from the Phoenix to the Bifang after the suggestion from a reviewer. The phoenix basically was Kimberly's firebird (Which I hadn't realized before) and the Bifang is a one-legged crane in Chinese folklore that predicted of coming fires. Otherwise, there's not much left to this story. A few chapters or so. I'm glad you guys are enjoying it so much!

 **~Av**


	15. She Was Numb

Numb.

She was numb. Numb to everything. When the flashes of photography went off in her face, she knew she was smiling. Her cheeks were bunched up, eyes nearly closed from how tightly she smiled. She had to keep up appearances. But on the inside, she was completely numb.

She's won another gymnastics competition. One of the hardest yet. All the other girls were so good. And while Kimberly didn't really get nervous, she felt the butterflies moving through her stomach as she waited for her events to start. An all-day gymnastics competition and she only participated in three events; floor, balance beam, and the parallel bars. The ones that tore up her hands, injured her ankles, and worked her body in ways no one could understand. No one would ever understand. Even Tommy didn't understand, no matter how much time and effort he put into his martial arts.

He didn't get it. In turn, he didn't get her. So much so it hurt to even think abut him. To think about how they left things. She couldn't worry about it. Couldn't worry about anything else but gymnastics. It was important. Even more so than monster fights. But when she was practicing her gymnastics she felt like she was flying, like nothing could touch her. She was strong, and nothing was going to keep her from going as far as she could. With another win under her belt, she was one step closer to her goal of making it to the Olympics. In the back of her mind, she wondered if she could even get so far when there were so many other things to worry about.

She was getting up there in age, already a little older than those that were getting their start in the highest tier of gymnastics. Olivia was close in age to her, but she was already so phenomenal. Then there was school and the rest of her life. With the hours she put into gymnastics before becoming a ranger, how would she keep it all together? Classes, homework, ranger duties, the long hours of practice, being a friend, being a daughter, being a part of the Angel Grove community…?

She couldn't keep up.

So, something had to go.

Kimberly dropped all her extracurriculars, went to ranger battle as often as she could though the others worked to pick up her slack, did her homework whenever she could, caught up on sleep in study hall and other classes and…stopped eating.

She needed to be lean, lighter, able to fly higher and eating was just slowing her down. The sooner she made it, the sooner she could start up again. And it wasn't like she _completely_ gave it up, she had a protein bar every morning and every night. And a few snacks here and there. But it was working. She was making her way…

Kimberly shifted the flowers that rested in her arm then frowned. They felt like they weighed a million pounds in her arms, slowly dragging her down. She felt her legs start to give out beneath her, her knees wobbling and quaking more than it had the day Zordon and Alpha took her and her friends out to the Command Center for the first time.

A low sound slipped from Kimberly's lips as she brought a hand up to her forehead. Seconds before she moved it to catch herself as she slowly, very slowly, sank to the floor. She blacked out before hitting the ground.

The doctor looked her over and reminded her she needed to eat more. She saw the look on her mother' face when she answered the doctor's question.

 _"Kim, did you have anything to eat today?"_

 _"Yeah a banana." It was the truth and yet she couldn't help but feel the guilt that came over her. So she ate just a banana? What was so bad about that? It was enough to give her something to ease the butterflies that were flapping through her stomach, but not so much it'd keep her full and weigh her down._

 _"That's not enough, Kim," Ms. Hart lectured._

 _The doctor nodded in agreement. "I think you really need to start loading up on carbs, Kimberly, especially on days like this when you're pushing yourself real hard."_

 _"I usually do," Kimberly lied again. She couldn't help herself. Lowering her thumb from her mouth, Kimberly started to tug at the strings on her sneakers, alternately tightening and loosening it over and over. "it's just that I was so busy this morning…"_

 _"Mhm." Did he believe her? It sounded like he did, but the way he looked at her…? "Well, I understand your concern, Ms. Hart, but it's really not that unusual to see, especially in young athletes who reach this level." Finally, he smiled, making Kimberly relax. He believed her. "Especially when those athletes are always running around doing something to show how they can make this world a better place. It was you I saw in the newspaper for the garden club, right?"_

 _Kimberly blushed in embarrassment. "Yeah, we're working to replace all of the foliage around the library. After that, we're going to do the park."_

 _"Well, it sounds like you have a lot on your plate." The doctor patted her on the shoulder. "Take care of yourself, Kimberly."_

 _"I will. Thank you." Kimberly glanced at her mother as soon as the doctor left the room. She could see the worry in her face and said, "Mom, I'm fine."_

 _Ms. Hart started to protest but stopped, taking a step back when Coach Schmidt burst through the doors of the medical room with a big grin on his face. "Hey, how you feeling?" He asked Kimberly. "Like a champ? Like someone who placed in the top three? Like someone going to the…" he paused for dramatic effect. "Divisionals?"_

 _"What?" Kimberly squealed covering her mouth with her hands. "No way. You're not serious!" But Coach Schmidt was indeed serious and the grin on his face proved it to her. He opened his arms and enveloped Kimberly in a tight hug as they celebrated the news. Ms. Hart stood off to the side, chewing her lower lip in worry while she waited for Coach Schmidt to leave._

 _"Thank you for coming," Coach Schmidt said to Ms. Hart when he was leaving. "It's always nice to see the family and friends to be here for their achievements." He turned back to Kimberly. "I'll see you bright and early at our next practice. Get some rest. You deserve it."_

 _"Yes, I will. Thank you, Coach Schmidt, for everything." She laced her hands together and held them in her lap. Kimberly caught her mother's eye and squealed again. "Can you believe it mom, divisionals?"_

 _"I'm excited for you, Kim," Ms. Hart said. "But—"_

 _Kimberly knew what was coming. A lecture. Something that would make her roll her eyes and wonder what it was that her mother would do to keep her from fulfilling her potential now. Ever since she joined the team, her mother had consistently been reminding her about her school work and other obligation she had. It was always such a downer, especially when it came so soon after her accomplishments._

 _"But what, mom?" Kimberly asked, a harsh edge to her tone._

 _"But Kim, your friends aren't here," Ms. Hart pointed out. Kimberly bowed her head at the admission. "I saved some seats for them and none of them showed up." Kimberly looked away. Ms. Hart waited for a few moments in silence then reached out, smoothing her daughter's hair from her face. Kimberly backed out of the way, doing her best to keep from meeting her mother's gaze. "What's going on, honey?"_

 _"Nothing." Kimberly shrugged. "We're just…kind of in a fight."_

And now she sat in front of her mother, who demanded to know what her journal was. Demanded to know if it were a food tracker. Demanded to know if Kimberly really weren't as perfect as she pretended to be.

"Kim?"

Kimberly continued to look away from her mother, her hands clasped to the front of her ankles, knees drawn to her chest. She leaned forward, resting her cheek on her upraised knees. There wasn't anything she could say.

" _Kimberly?!"_

Kimberly jumped then. Her mother's voice had turned harsh, mixed with a tinge of furious concern. She couldn't look at her mother. Couldn't dare, knowing there was going to be nothing but guilt that'd roll through her. Everything was spiraling out of control, it was her fault. She made the decisions, made the choices, did everything that would get her to the Olympics. Had everyone murmuring to her. Her friends treated her like a head case, Coach Schmidt continued to push her harder, even the team doctor was looking at her funny.

Before she left the gymnastics center, the team doctor had taken her aside, lowered her voice as she spoke. "Kimberly, you're exhausted and shaky, what's going on?" Kimberly had insisted she was fine, but knew it was futile. "Which is it? No food at all or stuffing yourself until you throw it up? You think this is new? I've seen a lot of girls do it, especially when they get to this point of competition. I know, I did it, too. You've got to be thin to win, you have to go higher and faster. You lose the weight and you do go higher and faster, and you think you're doing better. But you're not, your body can't handle it. You're losing strength, eventually you're going to lose everything you work so hard for. What you're doing is dangerous and isn't necessary."

But Kimberly had simply flashed her biggest smile and said everything was fine before leaving. Now her _mother_ was getting in on it? Kimberly couldn't handle it. No. She had to get out of there. Taking in a deep breath, Kimberly stood up, using both hands to brush off the seat of her pants. Calmly, she looked her mother in the eye and said, "I'm going to go for a walk."

"No, Kim, we need to talk about this." Mrs. Hart gestured with the journal. "About what you've been writing."

"That?" Kimberly forced a laugh. "It's a project for school?" Mrs. Hart raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Mom! There's tons of stuff in there about being a power ranger! I'm not a power ranger! I'd never have the time, and can you imagine me being one of them?" She rolled her eyes. "Those helmets would do nothing for my hair. Can you _believe_ the rat's nest it would be when I'm done?"

Mrs. Hart pressed her lips and looked at her daughter carefully. Kimberly looked back at her, fingers twitching at her sides. She took in a deep breath, waiting for her mother to say something, _anything_ that would prove she was being believed. But Mrs. Hart shook her head, tapping the book against her palm.

"No…that ranger stuff…that might be fake but everything else is real."

Kimberly rolled her eyes. "Oh, mom—"

"I'm your _mother_ Kimberly! I think I'd know when my daughter's lying to me. And you've been lying to me for so long, I can't believe anything that comes out of your mouth. You haven't been eating!" Kimberly pressed her lips together. "You haven't eaten anything for months!"

"I _do_ eat!" Kimberly snapped.

"A banana? All day? A protein bar? A smoothie? That's all you're consuming, you wrote it here!" Kimberly started to protest once more but her mother threw her journal back to her. The pink ranger ducked out of the way and, gasping in surprise as well as for air—the room was suddenly filled with thick tension—stared at her mother. "Would you look at yourself?"

A whimper of a whisper, "I look fine, mom."

"You look _sick!_ You need to eat something!"

"I'M _FINE!"_ Kimberly shouted. "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" She pushed past her mother and stormed form the room. With fast feet, Kimberly thundered down the stairs of the house and out the front door. She stopped in her tracks, seeing a familiar car pull into the driveway. She saw her father in the front seat and bolted once more.

Kimberly ran down the street, her footsteps pounding the pavement as hard as she could. Each step was someone in her life. Her mother. Tommy. Jason. Trini. Zack. Billy. Avalon. Bailey. Alpha. Zordon. Olivia. Coach Schmidt. Her father. And with each step, she stomped on them, the force stinging the bottoms of her feet.

She had to make them pay. Kimberly ran until she was out of sight of the house, then she pulled up her communicator and teleported. She didn't care where she landed, where she arrived, a quick thought of destination before using the power of the morphing grid inside the communicator would direct her where to go. Her mind must've been on food, Kimberly realized the irony when she landed in the city square, right in front of one of her favorite restaurants.

Kimberly walked up to the glass window and placed her hand against it, watching the patrons inside. No, her gaze shifted just slightly, to her own reflection. For a moment, Kimberly wasn't sure it was her, then she noticed they were making the same movements, taking a step back, hand moving to her chest in fright. Kimberly dropped her hand to her side and—on autopilot—went into the restaurant, ordering before she thought about it and sat where the host directed her.

And for twenty minutes, Kimberly sat at the table, staring at the food she'd ordered. The chicken, broccoli, rice, potatoes, and cream sauce. Some of her favorites and she had no appetite. Kimberly twisted her fork in her hand and glanced around the restaurant. A restaurant filled with people eating. People who could eat so easily, as if it were nothing. And all she could see was nothing but calories and fat.

Taking in a deep breath, Kimberly reached out with shaking hands to tear off a piece of bread. The moment she had it in her fingers, lightweight piece felt it weighed a hundred pounds. She quickly tossed it back to the plate and dropped her hands to her lap, rubbing her fingers along the les of her jeans. It was disgusting, but she needed the food away from her.

Pain erupted in Kimberly's chest. Tears came to her eyes. She shook her head. _Stop being such a baby!_ Kimberly steeled herself, swallowed hard, closed her eyes tightly. She took in another breath and this time went for the potatoes. Again, she picked out the tiniest piece and dropped it into her mouth. She chewed, feeling it soften with her tongue, and swallowed. Tried to swallow. The wall of her throat slammed shut, just like her stomach when she was about to throw up. She couldn't swallow!

Frantically, Kimberly grabbed her napkin and spat her chewed potato into the cloth napkin. She surged to her feet and, grabbing her plate, hefted it and the silverware into the trash can. She raced from the restaurant, pushing past an elderly couple as she went. Kimberly ran until she couldn't run anymore, falling to her knees, she pressed her fingers to her communicator, allowing it to take her to the Command Center.

The Command Center, which typically filled with bright lights and beeps were eerily quiet. The only light visible was from Zordon's Power Tube, quiet as her mentor slept soundly. Nearby, Alpha stood ramrod straight, shut down for the night as well.

Kimberly's gasps for air turned to heaving sobs as tears fell down her cheeks.

She collapsed to the ground, burying her face in her hands as she sobbed.

She was utterly alone.

* * *

 **A/N:** This one was such a punch to the heart for me. I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter! I hope you enjoyed this one as well, we're now in present time for the rest of the story.

 **~Av**


	16. I Can't Breathe

Ms. Hart took a deep breath to steady herself. Then took another. And another. There wasn't much longer she could sit in the car, she supposed. At some point, she had to go inside and confront Coach Schmidt. It was hard to get herself committed to the thought. There were too many things that could go wrong. The first, and most important, thing that could go wrong didn't happen.

Kimberly didn't question where her mother was going. Didn't wonder why she was up so early and to leave the house. Honestly, Ms. Hart wondered if Kimberly even cared. Or if it was that she was angry at her. Not because of accusing her daughter of not eating, but because of her ex-husband. They'd been seeing each other a lot lately, fighting over Kimberly. Not just because there were still things from their divorce they needed to speak about but because Ms. Hart couldn't stand to see how much her ex-husband was affecting her daughter.

 _"You haven't seen her in months," Ms. Hart reminded him when he'd arrived at the house. "Months! You broke her heart the last time you said you'd go to her competition."_

 _"I don't think I broke—"_

 _"—You didn't see her. I did. I saw how upset she was about you standing her up. You've done it so many times and I won't let you do it anymore."_

 _"And what's that supposed to mean?"_

 _"I'm not going to let you see her. I'm not going to let you hurt her anymore."_

If she could get through that, she could get through what she needed to do next. When she got angry for her daughter, there weren't too many people that could keep her from defending her to the last of her breath. She could do this. It was for Kim.

Clutching her purse to her chest, Ms. Hart climbed out of her car and headed into the gymnastics center. She went to the receptionist and asked to see Coach Schmidt, waiting as she was told he was in a meeting. She took the time to watch the gymnast around the center, running and flipping everywhere. There were so many little girls she hadn't noticed before. So many…being put on a scale at the start of their practice before being told to stretch and run through their routine. Being pushed harder and harder.

Ms. Hart could only stare in shock as Coach Schmidt continued to yell at them, saying they needed to work harder and faster. Yelling that they needed to tone up and lose weight. It was enough to stoke a fire in her heart, a fire that would be hard to put out.

Finally, Ms. Hart was called back and she strode confidently into Coach Schmidt's office. She looked through the window and saw him jog over to his office. Ms. Hart pressed her lips together as she watched him approach. A gazelle going into the lion's den.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting," Coach Schmidt apologized as he came into the office, closing the door behind him. He gestured towards the window that overlooked the gym, sitting atop his desk. "As you can see, I have a lot of girls I need to help."

"And you must be doing a good job," Ms. Hart said primly, pressing her lips together. "It looks like Olivia is really giving Kim a run for her money. You sure do push them hard enough." Coach Schmidt smiled and nodded, obviously pleased by the praise she'd given him. It was the last bit of praise he'd ever hear from her. Ms. Hart cleared her throat, getting right to the point. "We need to talk about Kim," Ms. Hart said firmly.

Coach Schmidt's smile widened. He looked so pleased with himself that Ms. Hart wanted nothing more than to throw him through the window. So all his girls would see him for who he truly was. "She's doing great!" Coach Schmidt said cheerfully. Ms. Hart could practically hear him swoon. It made her stomach churn. "Just great."

'"Have you seen her lately?" Ms. Hart demanded, unable to keep everything inside a moment longer. "She's too thin. She's _too_ thin! Haven't you been seeing her lately?" Her eyes searched Coach Schmidt's, wondering if there were anything that would permeate his brain. Anything to make him show concern rather than the almost smug aura he was putting off. She wanted to smack him. No, wanted to have one of those monsters come down and step on him.

Silence stretched between the two, permeating from her accusation. Finally, Coach Schmidt sucked in a deep breath and said, "When Kim came to me, she to was too sloppy," he explained. "And with my help, she's finally come to nail her elements." He started to lift a few fingers as he explained, "She's flying higher, running faster, throwing herself into more difficult tricks—"

"She lies about what she eats! If she eats at all! She-she-she-" Ms. Hart closed her eyes, trying to stop stuttering. Trying to keep herself from bursting forth with the anger she was grasping at straws to keep inside. "She exercises compulsive, sometimes in the middle of the night. She keeps secrets from me. We never talk anymore. She never used to be like this, not until we hired you as her coach."

Coach Schmidt sneered. "It sounds like you're upset she doesn't talk to you anymore."

"I beg your pardon."

"You just said it yourself, Ms. Hart. You said she doesn't talk to you anymore. Maybe that's what you're angry about, that you're not the only person in her life."

"That's ridiculous."

"She's a teenager, Ms. Hart. Eventually they stop relying on their parents for everything."

"So she should just rely on you to poke fun at her weight. To make sure that you break down her spirit enough that she feels she has to starve herself to impress you!"

Coach Schmidt's nostrils flared. He glared at her so fiercely she couldn't help but take a step back. It was a different man in front of her than the personable Coach Schmidt that was passed off to her. "Let me tell you something," he said slowly, dangerously. "I'm responsible for my girls when they're here in my gym. Outside the gym they're _your_ responsibility!"

"So, what are you saying?" Ms. Hart drew herself up to her full height, staring Coach Schmidt down. "You don't care she's starving herself?"

"That's not what I'm saying at all. But I am her coach, I do what you pay me to do." He pointed out the window where Olivia was displaying an impressive show of gymnastics as she worked on her floor routine. "Now Kim is on her way up, giving Olivia a run for her money. And no matter where she ends up, and it'll be the Olympics, it'll mostly because of me." He jabbed himself in the chest then pointed at her. "I know my job and I do it well. Excuse me for being blunt, but maybe you should get started on yours."

"Coach Schmidt—"

"We're done here, Ms. Hart. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day."

Ms. Hart held her purse tighter, nodded to Coach Schmidt, and left the gym without a backwards glance. The conversation may not have worked out, but at least she knew now knew what her suspicions had always been telling her. There was something wrong with Coach Schmidt and now she knew for sure.

He didn't care about the kids, he cared about winning.

And only that.

* * *

Kat poked her head around the corner of Coach Schmidt's office. She watched as Ms. Hart stormed off to her car, burning rubber as she pulled out of the parking lot. Frowning, Kat glanced at Coach Schmidt's office before slipping into the girl's locker room. Making sure everything was clear, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number.

"Hello?" She asked after the person on the other end picked up. "Tommy? It's Kat. Yeah, listen, I need to tell you something. It's serious."

* * *

"Come on, Bay, this is one of your favorites," Avalon said, shaking her little sister's shoulder with one hand, gesturing towards a warm cake that sat in front of them with the other. "And you know I'm not a great baker. If I do something like this, you know it's special."

"No." Bailey stared glumly at the piece of cake in front of her. "I'll get fat."

Avalon let out a groan of frustration, running her hands over her face. "You're _not_ fat, Bay!"

"I gained weight."

"You're just going through puberty," Billy explained patiently from the other side of the Cranstons' kitchen table. "It's very common at that age. There are many things going on with your body—" Bailey slapped her hands over her ears while Avalon gave him a 'are you serious' look that made Billy's eyes widen. He shrugged innocently, thought slightly baffled. "I'm just trying to—"

"—Please don't, Smurf," Avalon interrupted. "It's not helping."

Trini smiled, placing a comforting hand on Billy's shoulder. "We know you're just trying to help, Billy. But maybe that's not the best way to go," she said gently. Then she looked to Bailey and said, "You know not eating isn't the best way to get in shape. As it is, we're already pretty in shape from our ranger powers, making unhealthy choices isn't the way to go."

"Especially because you're still so young," Jason added. He shifted in his chair, rocking Trini, who was sitting on his lap, back and forth. "That's just going to cause irreparable damage to your body that can't be made up later."

Bailey lowered her hands from her ears. "I want to play volleyball like Av, and I need to be in shape."

"Actually, it's a lot better to be—" Billy started but another glare from Avalon immediately cut him off. Instead, he lowered his head and cleared his throat. "Um, so when's Kim supposed to get here?" He asked, looking at his watch. "She's running a little late."

"Maybe this was a bad idea," Kat lamented. She stood aside from the group, leaning against the kitchen counter, her thumb brought to her teeth. She quietly chewed on her nails, whether it from nerves of the intervention the pink ranger was about to walk into, or due to being the outsider looking in on the group of friends. "I didn't want to push you guys into anything but—"

"Don't worry about it, Kat," Tommy said. His voice was gruff. It was the first time he'd spoke since he arrived that day, since Kat had called and told him what'd been going on. Since he'd gathered everyone at the Cranston house. That had been his idea, for them to meet at Billy's place. Out of everyone, he was the one Kimberly would react the least harsh to.

He and Kim hadn't spoken much, only saying quick greetings and partings when they saw each other. They tried to go on dates, but it was too hard to pretend that nothing was happening. Especially when Kim had to cancel. The others…they hadn't spoken, _really_ spoken to each other, in a little over a month. It was hard and starting to become noticeable. Their teachers asked if everything was okay, their parents noticed Kim wasn't around, their ranger training went along without much trust between the team. Some of their fights they lost because of the tension between them and Kimberly, making it much harder to work as a team.

If things were going to change, to be fixed, if they were going to help Kimberly and make her realize how much they cared, it was going to be now.

"We'd have to do this sooner or later," Tommy continued. He let out a long breath and motioned towards Bailey. "Just look what it's doing to her. And we all know that Kim's sick. We can't ignore that any further."

"The long she goes on with this, the less chance she had to come back," Billy agreed. "Right now, we have a small window of opportunity to get her the help she needs. She's risking heart problems, permanent damage to her teeth, her throat, her ability to bear children."

"I think we get the point, man," Zack mumbled. It was the first time in a long time the rangers had seen him so serous outside of battle. He continuously looked at the time on his phone, just about every five minutes. He frowned, crossing his arms, shaking his head. "I think we all get the point. She's fucking dying and she doesn't even care!"

"Zack," Jason protested.

"No, man. I'm being serious. Have you seen her?" Zack lifted his gaze to look each of his friends in the eye. "She's this _thin!"_ He held up his pinkie finger, shaking it back and forth. "This _thin_ and she keeps throwing herself into gymnastics training. She doesn't sleep and she hardly fucking eats at all." He sat up straight, sapping his hands against the table top. "Am I the only one who cares? Am I the only one who can't sleep every night because I'm just waiting for that phone call where I'm told she's been sent to the hospital?"

"Zack," Jason started again. "I know you're upset, but this isn't helping anyone."

"Well, we're clearly not helping her, so why should it matter?" Zack slammed his fist against the table and turned away, using his free hand to cover his mouth. Jason looked at his best friend, noticing the tears coming to his eyes. "I just…I just want her to be okay, man." His voice was shaky.

Jason took in a deep, ragged breath, ran a hand through his hair. He didn't know what to say. For the first time in a long time, he didn't have a game plan. Sensing his distress, Trini reached out and grasped his hand, squeezing it tightly in hers. He squeezed her hand back in a gentle show of thanks. Trini leaned over and rested her hand against Jason's shoulder, her head fitting perfectly in the crook of his neck.

"I'm just so done with this," Tommy said, his voice filled with more anger any of the rangers had ever heard from him. Trini jumped, easily recognizing the voice. The malicious voice of the green ranger. His hands clenched into fists as his sides, shaking with fury.

"Well," a tiny voice said from the kitchen doorway. The group turned to see Kimberly standing behind them, swallowed up in her large track jacket. She looked as thin as ever, as tired as ever. As if it took everything in her power to hold herself up. "I'm glad to know how you really feel."

Tommy turned to her, keeping his eyes locked on her. "Kim," he said slowly.

Kimberly's eyes moved over the group, narrowing when they landed on Kat. "I thought I was coming here to see my friends, but now I know that you don't want to try and make up. To try and move all this behind us." She shook her head. "You really _are_ trying to steal my friends, aren't you? What? Are you trying to replace me?"

Kat's eyes widened in surprise and hurt. "Kim, I'm trying to help you."

"Ha!"

"She can't replace you as a friend, Kim," Trini said firmly, standing up from Jason's lap. Her movement made the others move as well. "Real friends wouldn't do that. _Best_ friends wouldn't do that." She stepped closer to Kimberly, who instinctively stepped back. "We just want to help you."

"Help me with what?" Kimberly's tone suddenly shifted to an eerily sweet one. "I don't' have any thing I need help with."

"What about your homework?" Billy asked gently. At Kim's defiant response of 'what about it?' he folded his arms like a parent scolding their child. "Kim, I tutor you and help you with homework all the time. If you haven't been blowing me off, you fall asleep. And when you actually do the work, there's nothing to it. Your grades are dropping."

The pink ranger waved her hand. "My grades are fine."

"Kim—" Zack cut Billy off. "And what about cheerleading? Or the gardening club? You used to love doing things for other people. And now—"

"—What?" Kimberly sneered. "Now that I'm doing something for myself you can't handle it? I don't have time to do those things anymore, Zack. I grew up, I'm trying to make a life for myself. Maybe you should do the same thing."

Zack's eyes flashed.

Tommy, instead, moved forward. "Kim, we're worried about you. Everything in your life is falling apart."

"Everything in my life is _fine_!"

"Even us?"

The words made Kimberly stop cold. She stared at Tommy, her lower lip trembling. Then she took a deep breath and said, "You were the one who broke up with me, right? Maybe it's good for both of us. Now you can date Kat,"—Kimberly gestured to her—"And you don't have to worry about following me around anymore. Isn't that right?" She eyed her friends. "Now you don't have to be annoyed by us."

"Kim, we want you to get help," Billy said. His voice continued to be firm. "A therapist or someone. Even your mom." Kimberly snorted again. "We know you're not eating."

"I _am_ eating, there's _nothing_ wrong with me," Kimberly insisted passionately, but without tone. "I'm _fine."_

"You're hiding food and you have major mood swings," Avalon said, eyes flashing. "Your grades are dropping. You snap at everyone. You think that's normal?" She gestured towards Bailey. "You think my little sister now being afraid to eat because she thinks she's going to get fat is fucking normal?"

"Like you're all so perfect!" Kimberly snapped. She ignored Avalon's 'you bitch', before continuing, motioning to all of her friends. Former friends. Starting with Trini, she went around. "You got beaten up by your boyfriend," she snapped, then turned to Jason. "You absolutely hate Tommy for taking the leadership position but you're too afraid to say anything." Then Billy and Zack. "You think you're so much better than everyone because you're smarter, you can't be serious for more than two seconds." Then Avalon, Kat, and Tommy. "You beat up other people for money and protection and think those guys are actually your friends. You're a boyfriend stealer and you…" she looked Tommy in the eye. "You're just pathetic. Moping around everywhere."

Kimberly took another step back from her friends. "And you know what? I'm sick of you guys acting like you're better than me. I'm sick of all of you and I never want to see you again." She turned to leave.

Tommy grabbed her.

Tried to hold her still.

"No! Don't touch me!"

"Kim, we're trying to _help_ you!"

"YOU'RE TRYING TO HURT ME!" Kimberly shouted back. "EVERYONE'S TRYING TO HURT ME!" She sucked back tears. "You're supposed to be my friends, I'm supposed to trust you!"

"How can we trust someone who's lying to us all the time?" Billy demanded.

"LET GO!" Kimberly's shriek was so loud that Tommy had no choice but to let go of the pink ranger to slap his hands over his ears.

Kimberly backed away from Tommy's grasp. It was a struggle to break away from him. She had to fight hard. Breathe hard. Too hard. Her eyebrows clenched together. Why couldn't she stop gasping for air? Why was her chest hurting so badly? Kimberly took another step back, stumbled. "Whoa."

"Kim?" Kat asked, anxiously.

"I…" Kimberly's breaths came out in hyperventilating gasps now. She brought her hand up to her throat, the other to her chest. What was going on? "I don't…"

"Kim, are you okay?" Trini asked, grasping her shoulder.

As soon as Trini touched her, Kimberly was glad. Felt safe. Was so grateful there was something sturdy holding onto her as her knees buckled. Good, old, dependable Trini. She was always there for her. Kimberly started to fall to the ground, with Trini leading her the whole way. Jason grabbed onto her other side, easing the two to the floor. Jason. One of the strongest people she knew. He was perfect for Trini in every way.

"Kim!"

"I can't breathe," Kimberly gasped. Tears started to fall down her cheeks. "I can't breathe!"

"Call an ambulance!" Was that Billy shouting? It had to be, had to be him replace Jason as he went to do as he was told. Billy knew first-aid, was well versed in all things medicine and science. Was often the one who administered the first aid after a gruesome battle with putties and monsters. He knew where everything in the Command Center was. Billy was so generous. "Everything's going to be okay, Kim."

"I'll wait for the ambulance!" Zack ran outside. He was the fastest to move. He had so much energy. The kind of energy that always made Kimberly laugh and smile.

"Kim, Kim, listen to me. You're going to be okay."

Kimberly's eyes darted around. Landed on Avalon and Bailey. Avalon had her arms wrapped around her sister, kept her head turned away as the purple ranger openly cried. She was always protective of her sister, as much as she was to her friends. She was always strong like that.

"Everything's going to be okay, Beautiful."

Kimberly tilted her head back and saw Kat and Tommy around her as well. Kat chewed her lower lip. She'd been such a good friend to her since the very beginning. Nice and sweet. How could anyone think she would try to purposefully hurt someone else. And Tommy. He was always so sweet and nice to her. Her white knight, riding in on a horse to save her. She didn't need to be saved, she could handle herself. But there he was, there for her. Like he'd always been.

And, like usual, she messed it up.

Kimberly heard sirens in the distance, pulling closer as the seconds passed.

Closer and closer.

They were coming for her.

It was over.

Closing her eyes, Kimberly tried to focus on anything other than the squeezing, burn in her heart from all her actions over the last few months.

It was all her fault.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, wasn't this a doozy of a chapter. What did you guys think?

 **~Av**


	17. I Will Be

Kimberly Hart was the youngest person recognized as having a heart attack in the state of California.

As far as she was concerned, she may as well be the youngest to have a heart attack, ever, from the way the doctors reacted. How everyone reacted. The moment Kimberly woke up in the hospital bed, she was treated as if she were fragile. And she hated it. She had to be accompanied to the bathroom, couldn't walk the hallways by herself, couldn't even look in the mirror. It was for the best, everyone said. Part of your recovery plan.

 _Just like being forced to eat is,_ Kimberly thought. She hated it. It was good for her. It was good for her but she hated it. It would take some time before she learned to love it again. Shaking her head, Kimberly leaned back against the back of her seat. She turned her attention to her street, watching as her neighbor across the way helped her toddler son walk across the grass, gently holding his hands.

A smile came to her face.

She'd almost missed out on all of it. She'd been in the hospital long enough. Was finally out on outpatient treatment. Was able to have everything slowly go back to normal. Slowly. She met with Ms. Appleby and Principal Kaplan on a weekly basis to make sure she was turning in her homework and catching up. Billy immediately took her back to be his study partner, becoming even more patient than he had before with her. Part of her resented him for that, having to obviously slow down for her. But another part was so grateful for him. The first day they worked together again, Kimberly had brought him one of the teddy bears that had been given to her at the hospital.

"Just ignore the 'Get Well Soon' message," she'd said, noticing the confused twitch of his eyebrows. "Or else, keep it." Kimberly giggled. "You're going to need it after having to deal with me for a while."

Billy surprised her with the tightest hug she'd ever received in her life. And Kimberly felt herself starting to cry as she hugged him back. Her reunions with the rest of her friends had been so similar; Kat was the only one to visit her in the hospital. Kim refused to let any of the others come see her, didn't want them to see her like that. They'd respected her wishes, Kat was the only one who'd insisted. And Kimberly was grateful for it. She'd made a good friend in the blonde Australian, surprised to find they had a lot in common, especially their love of dance though Kim preferred dancing for fun and Kat enjoyed the structure of ballet.

She couldn't wait to continue to hang out with her. She'd gone over to Billy's house one day for a study session and found Avalon and Bailey there as well. Kimberly quickly apologized to the two, specifically to Bailey for being a terrible role model to her. And to Avalon for what she'd said.

"You're not dangerous," Kimberly said quietly. "To the monsters that attack, maybe." At that, Avalon chuckled. "But you're not dangerous to us. I shouldn't have thrown things back in your face."

Avalon simply shrugged. "I've done the same to you."

"But you never hit that low. I'm sorry."

"You know I only did it because I cared, right?"

Kimberly smiled sweetly, folding her arms. "Aww. You like me. You really like me."

"Yeah, yeah, Pinkerbell," Avalon said. She turned away for a second, looking at the pink ranger out the corner of her eye. "I guess I do." And with that, the two hugged and Kimberly knew everything was okay between them. (Mostly knowing the orange ranger would've hit her for trying to hug her before).

Zack was the very first one that had forgiven her. Hell, he didn't act any different toward her at all. The moment he laid eyes on her when she was released from the hospital, Zack had grabbed her and asked whether his plan to woo Angela was going to work. Kimberly giggled before bursting out into loud laughter, making Zack grin. He didn't treat her any different. Neither did Jason, if she were honest. He did the same as he'd always done; was protective around her. Treated her like a little sister. Anytime someone would whisper and point at her in the hallway, Jason would either put his arm around her and shuffle her by the whispers or go up to those that were and speak quietly to them. So low his voice was a low mumble, but not so much Kimberly could hear.

She loved him for that. Trini was the very first person she saw when she was released from the hospital. She'd been waiting for Kimberly outside on the front porch swing when the car pulled up. She smiled as Kimberly walked over and sat next to her. For a few moments they sat in silence, as they gently pushing themselves back and forth along the porch.

"It feels like so long ago," Trini said, breaking the silence. "That we've been out here with nothing bothering us." At the same time, the girls looked at their communicators, as if waiting for them to go off. Kimberly let out a sigh of relief when they stayed silent.

"Yeah," Kimberly agreed. She flicked her hair from her face and focused on the street, eyes shifting back and forth. With a sigh, she dropped her hands to her lap. "And then I'm going to be leaving for a while."

"But you can come back," Trini pointed out. "You won't be gone for that long. You'll just be getting some extra treatment. Treatment you need."

"Yeah." Kimberly shrugged. Sniffed. "It'll be hard to go back and forth."

"But you'll need to." Trini grasped Kimberly's hand and squeezed it tightly. Kimberly felt Trini's hand shaking. "Kim you're beautiful, smart, talented. I used to think that all the time. But now you look like hell and I don't know how to help you. None of us can."

Kimberly sniffed again, let out a humorless laugh. She knew exactly what Trini meant. She'd thought the same things about herself. "I keep trying to figure out when everything got so crazy. I keep thinking that I can work through it and things will be okay, you know? That I'll feel good again." Kimberly sighed. "I know what I'm doing. I can see myself. But the thing is, I can't stop. I know what I'm doing and I can't stop, Trini. There's a million girls who want to be in my shoes right now and I'm, like, the worst contender."

"Kim—"

"I'll be fine, Trini." Kimberly squeezed Trini's hand back. "I promise."

It was a long road to get to where she could say that. Where she was going to be okay. Even when Kimberly sat with her mother, a therapist, and her doctor, admitting to everything that had been going on, Kimberly thought they were taking it a bit too seriously. She wasn't dying, she'd had a mild heart attack. All the attention was more embarrassing than everything else. Who needed all the flowers and candy and bears to festoon the room?

Kimberly shook her head as she looked over each one. It seemed like everyone in the school had sent her something. She didn't need all the junk. What she needed was to be released and given the clean bill of help so that she could go back to training.

"You can't do that, Kim," Ms. Hart said with more emotion Kimberly had ever heard in her mother's voice. She looked at her mother, surprise to see her openly crying. "You're not well enough."

"Mom." Kimberly reached out and patted her mother's hand, before squeezing it. She gave the bravest smile she could muster, her stomach doing flip-flops. The truth was slowly starting to dawn on her. She had to beat it to the punch. "I'm fine. I'm okay. I'm still here."

"Kimberly, are you listening to me?" The doctor demanded. Kimberly glanced at him. "You're lucky you don't have permanent spinal chord damage. Your malnutrition has left your bones brittle. You have a fracture in one of your vertebrae. Other fractures in your pelvis and ankles. That nagging pain you have in your foot? That's from a stress fracture. You've been working out on a stress fracture for _months!"_

Kimberly looked down at her bandaged foot. She couldn't remember when she _didn't_ have the nagging throb in her foot. Couldn't remember when she didn't start or end the day with a cortisone shot. _"_ Your body will heal but if you continue to compete, you could have lasting damage. Kim, your heart attack was your body warning you what could happen. You have to listen to yourself now."

She was listening.

Now out of the hospital, Kimberly was listening to her body. Her stomach gurgled with hunger, yearning for the large chicken breast and baked potato that sat on her plate. Kimberly turned the page of her magazine, leaning over to read it as she cut off a piece of chicken. A warm breeze blew across the front porch, ruffling the pages and her napkin, held only by the large glass of lemonade perched on the end. It was funny, how she didn't realize how thin the models in her magazines were.

How unhealthy.

"Hey." Kimberly sensed Tommy before he'd even said anything. But now she had no choice but to look at him. Oh, he looked so good. Just as he always did. And she looked so disgusting. Tommy didn't seem to think so as he sat at the small table next to her. "How are you feeling?"

Kimberly's eyes searched his, finding nothing but warmth in them. She smiled and joked, "About as good as I look, so not so good."

"That's not true," Tommy said with a shake of his head.

 _Liar._ Kimberly thought, but didn't say it out loud. It was the tiny voice in her head that made her immediately think he was lying. Deep in her heart, she knew he was telling the truth. Tommy always spoke the truth when he was around her. "They're trying to fatten me up." She gestured towards the meal in front of her.

"I think that may be a good thing." Tommy shrugged and smiled. "It really does smell good. Your mother seems to have really gone all out."

"Eating is part of my therapy," Kimberly admitted. She dropped her fork and knife, bringing up her hands to rub her arms. She felt the goosebumps despite how arm it was. That was another part she had to get used to, how cold she was compared to everyone else. There wasn't much fat in her body anymore, she'd starved herself too much. That along with the thin body hair she'd managed to grow everywhere was enough to keep her from going through _not_ eating again. "I go to a group for girls like me, ones with eating disorders. It's a great place to talk."

Tommy's eyes shifted. But he didn't stay quiet for too long. She was the one who'd broached the subject while he tried to dance around it. Tommy let out a long breath and leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. "Kim…" He licked his lips. Forced himself to look her in the eye. It'd been so long since he'd done that. "I don't understand how you could—"

"I know you don't," Kimberly interrupted. She'd practiced the conversation enough, talked about why she had started. It took her so long to figure it out but when the truth came out, she could trace everything back to it. "And it's kind of hard to explain. It's like, I just…" She shook her head. "I felt like I had to be perfect or I would disappoint everybody." She paused. "Just like my dad's always been disappointing me."

She didn't say more than that. Didn't say how his walking out her on and her mother had caused so much more havoc on her than she expected. How his promising to be at her competitions and not showing up had cut her deeper than anything any monster could've done to her. How his constant disappointments grew and Kimberly could no longer keep the painful emotions at bay. So she figured out a more destructive way to combat her feelings.

"You can't disappoint any of us, Kim, you know that."

"I do know it. I know it here." She pointed to her heart. "But not up here." She pointed to her head. "Tommy, even as a ranger I've been disappointing. I've gotten stronger but, I've been one of the weakest. I've had to work really hard to get to where I am now. Harder than all the rest of you guys." She snorted. "It helps that I'm constantly being kidnapped for one reason or another. And you know the only reason I'm targeted is because Rita and Zedd think I'm the weakest. I couldn't keep being weak. I had to work hard to be perfect and…and it didn't work out." She nodded towards her food. "So I'm getting help."

"What about your gymnastics?" Tommy pressed.

Kimberly smiled a sad smile. "I have to stop for now. I forgot what I was doing it for in the first place. It was something I _had_ to do instead of wanted to do." She nodded towards her plate, giggling. "Just like eating that potato. I don't want to do it, but I have to. I need to."

Tommy smiled back at her. Tentatively, he reached out and grasped her hands in his. Kimberly didn't pull her hands back, reveled in his touch. His loving touch. "You know, it you want…" he paused, as if afraid of her response. Then rushed out the end. "I'll be there for you. As long as it takes."

Kimberly's heart soared. She leaned forward and pressed her lips against Tommy's. It wasn't a passionate kiss but held all the emotion she'd felt for him in it. She grinned when she pulled back, tears brimming in her eyes. "I'd like that a lot, Tommy."

Tommy smiled and pressed his forehead against hers. Then he pulled her up from the table and directed her to his car, saying they were going for a walk. Kimberly quickly protested. Her mother would wonder where she went. "Let me handle her," Tommy said. Kimberly smiled and nodded, allowing herself to be taken away. Away from the large and quiet house that only she and her mother occupied since her father left.

The large and quiet house that made the discouraging voicing her head have many places to echo. Where the darkness that hid in every unused room could stretch its long, cold fingers to grab her. As Tommy drove her into town, Kimberly angled her face towards the sun, allowing it to light her up from the inside.

When they arrived—Kimberly noticed Tommy had taken her to Ernie's and deduced he was taking her to their friends—she felt nothing but happiness and excitement squiggle through her stomach. She wanted to be normal again. They'd welcome her with open arms as they always did for each other. Kimberly started towards the youth center then stopped, noticing two familiar figures walking across the street.

Coach Schmidt and Olivia.

Kimberly watched the two for a long moment. Looked at what she could have become. Kimberly saw it then, how frail Olivia looked compared to how strong she'd been when they met. How had Kimberly not noticed it? Olivia looked over at her, her eyes lowered, then she nodded. Kimberly nodded back. She knew then, their friendship wasn't going to last much longer. If they ever had a friendship. Olivia was going to do everything it took and Kimberly couldn't handle it any longer. Not when she knew what the outcome was going to be.

She had a new lease on life and was going to take every day that was given to her and live it to the fullest. Even if that meant giving up gymnastics for a little while.

"Hey." Tommy gently rubbed Kimberly's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Kimberly turned to Tommy, turned her back on the demons. It would be a long road to recovery, but she could handle it.

"I'm going to be."

* * *

 **THE END**

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you so much for everyone who has read and reviewed this story. Just like with _Powerless_ and _I'm Home_ there were many aspects of this plot I loved. I like being able to go more into the rangers' lives without the focus on their powers, even if it's still important to them. (As you can see with this chapter).

So far I've had people ask for Jason's singular story to be next, though I'm bouncing back and forth between that and Billy's so I'm not sure what/when the next one will be up. Otherwise, check out _Headstrong_ and _Powerless II_ while you're waiting. And for those that are waiting for the third KendallxHeckyl Dino Charge story, I'm still working on that one as well, I haven't forgotten.

Thanks everyone!

 **~Av**


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